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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (November 26):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council if it knows the following in the past three years:
(a) the annual numbers of donor centres and mobile vehicles under the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service and the changes in such numbers;
(b) the respective numbers of blood donations and bags of blood collected each year and, among the bags of blood collected, the number of those which were found to contain pathogens or had been contaminated and thus unusable;
(c) the annual blood demand of various medical institutions; and
(d) whether the number of blood donations by the public was declining; if so, of the measures to encourage more people to give blood?
Reply:
President,
(a) The numbers of donor centres and mobile vehicles under the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) and their respective service statistics in the past three years are set out at Annex 1.
(b) The annual numbers of blood donations (equivalent to the annual number of bags of blood collected) in the territory remained relatively stable over the past three years with increases recorded in 2007. Relevant figures and the numbers of bags of blood collected which were found to contain pathogens or had been contaminated and thus unusable per annum are set out at Annex 2.
As seen from the figures in the Annex, the numbers of bags of blood collected which were found to contain pathogens or had been contaminated and thus unusable were on the decrease in recent years. It is believed to be attributable to the Hepatitis B Vaccination Programme for new-born babies introduced since 1988. The vaccination programme results in a significant decrease in the percentage of young first-time blood donors tested positive for Hepatitis B.
(c) The numbers of bags of blood required by medical institutions (including hospitals under the Hospital Authority (HA) and private hospitals) for clinical uses over the past three years are set out at Annex 3.
(d) Hong Kong is a society full of care and love. Every year, many citizens participate in blood donations actively and regularly. We give our deepest appreciation to those citizens who are enthusiastic in giving blood to save lives. Despite the rise in the overall demand for blood in Hong Kong in recent years, a corresponding increase in donor population ensures adequate blood supply to cope with the demand. Apart from encouraging the public to join blood donations and become regular donors through its existing publicity and recruitment channels, BTS also employs different means to remind the public about the importance of regular blood donation. It also studies the feasibility of setting up additional donor centres in other districts of the territory. Moreover, BTS is always devoted to best utilising the blood collected. In the past three years, the annual numbers of bags of blood which were not utilised in Hong Kong remained at an extremely low level of about 1% of the total numbers of bags of blood collected. BTS and HA will continue to monitor closely the supply and utilisation of blood in Hong Kong and co-ordinate the service arrangements to ensure that the demand for blood is met.
Ends/Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:16
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