KUCHING: The heavy daily demand for blood at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) highlights the critical importance of regular blood donation, as hospitals rely on a constant supply to save lives in emergencies.
The SGH Blood Bank said that as many as 70 bags of blood are used every day, with most of the demand coming from blood group O, which is commonly required in emergency situations.
The scale of this demand was evident through a recent critical case in the early hours of the morning, when medical specialists activated the Massive Transfusion Protocol (MTP) for a patient who sustained severe polytrauma injuries following a road accident.
Activation of the MTP – which can only be authorised by medical specialists – indicates a life-threatening condition involving massive blood loss.
In this case, the patient reportedly lost nearly four litres of blood, requiring the Blood Supply Laboratory to provide more than 40 bags of blood from about 1:00 am onwards.
The patient is expected to need additional blood as his condition remains unstable.
According to the SGH Blood Bank, such emergency cases are not isolated, particularly at the start of the year, when requests for blood tend to increase.
Therefore, members of the public, especially those with blood group O who are eligible and due to donate, are encouraged to come forward to donate blood to ensure that sufficient supplies are always available for patients in critical need.
