Medics had to turn away around 50 potential blood donors every week last summer, because they had travelled to countries where a rare virus is present.
Now, a new testing platform being rolled out by the National Blood Transfusion Service could drastically reduce that number.
People who travelled to countries affected by the West Nile Virus cannot give blood for 28 days after they have returned from those countries, to ensure their blood is not contaminated with the virus.
Such countries include Italy, Romania, France, Hungary, Austria, Croatia and Serbia.
New equipment to be installed in July will now allow local medical laboratory scientists to screen blood for the virus, reducing the number of deferrals.
Alex Aquilina, who heads the National Blood Transfusion Service, appealed for blood donors to come forward and said that if donation patterns persist, the supply of blood might not be enough in the event of a major accident.
Supplies running low
The number of donations usually declines in summer and Dr Aquilina said that while the requirement is of 50 donations per day, there have been days where only between 20 and 30 donations were taken.
Meanwhile, there have also been ‘spates’ of accidents that sometimes happened over a very short period of time (as last weekend), leading to a sudden surge in demand.
“The NBTS aims to keep a stock supply of four to five days, however the stock has lately been for two, maximum three days, which is below the level where we can cover for a major accident,” Dr Aquilina said.
Blood is essential for operations, accidents and cancer treatment among others, and with improved technology hospitals across the world are now able to use their limited blood resources in a smarter manner.
Converting all blood to type O?
Scientists abroad have found a way to convert all blood types to the universal O type that is safe for all patients to receive, by using human gut microbes.
Dr Aquilina said that while the preliminary results were promising, one had to consider that this would only change the blood group to O, so there would still be the need for blood donations of the same amount.
It would certainly improve logistics and help in emergencies, however, it was still in early experimental phase, and to convert blood to ‘industrial use’ will take many years, if at all.
Those who wish to donate blood and have returned from abroad over the past four weeks should phone 8007 4313 to check if they are eligible. Donors should take their identity card, driving licence or Maltese passport with them.
To keep updated, look up National Blood Transfusion Service – Malta on Facebook.