Foreigners urged to join blood donation campaign

Rh-Negative blood reserves in Thailand are alarmingly low, as only 0.3% of the Thai population have this blood type, compared to around 15% of westerners, academic have warned earlier this week.

A panel of experts was tabling the issue during a Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) discussion titled "Death without Donors: Rh-Negative Blood Rarity in Thailand" on Feb 22, reports NNT.

The Phuket Red Cross outreach campaign schedule for blood donations in March was released on Feb 24, two days after the alarming announcement.

Dozens of locations will be available for donors to comfortably donate blood without having to go to Phuket Town, where the office of the Phuket chapter of the Red Cross is located. 

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Dr Issarang Nuchprayoon, adviser to the Thai Red Cross National Blood Center, urged the international community in Thailand to donate blood, as the scarcity of Rh-Negative blood could cause delays in providing assistance to western tourists in emergencies. 

Dr Issarang emphasized the need for westerners with Rh-Negative blood to join the effort, as donations from Thai donors alone would not be enough to support the needs of foreign visitors. 

"This disparity in numbers may provide challenges for western tourists with this blood type, as in emergencies that require blood transfusions, a scarcity in Thailand’s Rh-Negative type blood pool may cause assistance to be delayed," Dr Issarang said. 

The dates, times and locations for the Phuket Red Cross mobile blood donation centres in March are as follows:

• Mar 2 – noon-6pm – Central Floresta; 
• Mar 2 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Thalang;
• Mar 4 – 2pm-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 7 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Thalang;
  Mar 7 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 9 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 9 – 1pm-4pm – JW Marriott Resort & Spa;
• Mar 13 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Thalang;
  Mar 13 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 14 – 10am-4pm – Robinson Phuket Town;
• Mar 14 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 15 – noon-4pm – Makro Rawai;
• Mar 15 – 1pm-5pm – Bangkok Hospital Phuket;
• Mar 16 – 9am-3pm – The Plaza Surin;
• Mar 17 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Thalang;
  Mar 17 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 20 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Thalang;
  Mar 20 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 21 – 9am-3pm – Rawai Park;
• Mar 21 – 10am-3pm – Cherng Talay OrBorTor;
• Mar 22 – 10am-3pm – Banyan Tree Phuket;
• Mar 22 – 1pm-4pm – Bangkok Hospital Siriroj;
• Mar 23 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Thalang;
  Mar 23 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 24 – noon-6pm – Robinson Lifestyle Thalang;
• Mar 24 – 2pm-6pm – Porto de Phuket;
• Mar 25 – noon-6pm – Lotus’s Bypass;
• Mar 27 – 11am-4pm – Central Festival;
• Mar 29 – 1pm-4pm – Diamond Cliff Resort & Spa;
• Mar 29 – 1pm-4pm – Blue Tree Phuket;
• Mar 31 – 10am-15.30pm – Phuket FantaSea.

People can also donate blood directly at the Phuket Red Cross Office in Phuket Town:

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday – 8:30am to 4:30pm; 
• Tuesday, Thursday – 8:30am to 8pm; 
• Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays – 9am to 3pm; 
• Telephones – 076-251178 ext. 2 or 081-9588854. 

Normally Vachira Phuket Hospital organises its own separate outreach campaign, but the schedule for March has not been released yet. People can donate blood at the Blood Bank on the 4th floor of the hospital, located on Yaowarat Rd. in Phuket Town:

• Monday to Friday – 8:30am to 8pm; 
• Weekends and holidays – 8:30am to 3pm; 
• Telephone – 076-361234 ext 1287. 

All blood types are welcome, though Rh-Negative blood is needed critically.