Low blood supply in Jakarta: PMI

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JAKARTA: The Jakarta office of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has reported a shortage of blood as less people were willing to donate blood during Ramadhan.

Head of PMI Jakarta Salimar Salin said that currently, PMI Jakarta stocked only 227 bags of blood per day, much lower than the ideal 800 to 1,000 bags a day.

“The demand for blood is very high, reaching 1,000 to 1,100 bags per day. The high demand is because we also cover demand from Bogor, Depok and Tangerang,” he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

To cover the shortage, PMI Jakarta would conduct massive blood donation programs at shopping centers, train stations, bus terminals and other public places, Salimar said.

Head of East Jakarta PMI office Kusnoto said that his office would deploy dozens of volunteers to inform people of the importance of donating blood, saying that people could still donate blood in the evening after Muslims had ended their fasts.