Leukemia patients are finding it increasingly difficult to get timely platelet transfusions due to the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, a patient group said. The situation has become so serious that patients had to promote blood donations, it added.

People with blood diseases including leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, aplastic anemia, multiple myeloma, and malignant lymphoma receive bone marrow transplantation after several anti-cancer treatments in an aseptic room. During this treatment, bleeding may occur in the intestine or lungs due to a decrease in platelet levels. If patients do not get platelet transfusions at the right time, they may die.

After a steep fall in the number of blood donations amid Covid-19, leukemia patients are failing to get blood.

According to the Korea Leukemia Patients Organization (KLPO), there are fewer platelet donors compared to givers of whole blood or plasma.

The KLPO quoted the Korean Red Cross' Blood Management Headquarters as saying that patients had to wait for a week to get platelets of blood type AB, as fewer blood donations delayed the supply of platelets.

Some physicians directly contacted families of leukemia patients to get platelet donors and asked them to provide platelets to a designated hospital, sources said. Some of the platelets are also going to patients who could not get donors.

Patients or their families used to directly visit platelet donors over a decade ago but such practice revived after the Covid-19 crisis.

The KLPO urged the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korean Red Cross' Blood Management Headquarters, and Hanmaeum Blood Center to take quick measures so that leukemia patients do not have to search for platelet donors.

The health and welfare ministry, in particular, has to conduct a fact-finding survey on each hospital’s blood bank to identify the exact supply and demand of platelets, the group said.

The Korean Red Cross' Blood Management Headquarters and Hanmaum Blood Center should explain the situation of platelet shortage to blood donors so that they can collect as many platelets as requested by each hospital’s blood bank, and encourage platelet donations, the KLPO said.

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