Korean Red Cross

- Urgent call for eligible donors to participate in blood donation in the face of raging omicron 

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Thanks to donors, who generously made a donation after receiving a ¡®blood shortage crisis¡¯ emergency alert in 2021, the blood inventory level has been increased up to 7.4 days last December.

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Currently, however, the number of people visiting collection sites has fallen sharply due to omicron variant diffusion and cold wave. As a result, as of mid-February, the blood inventory level barely passed 3 days.

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Blood Services officials have noted if this trend continues, a sufficient supply of blood products may be unavailable to hospitals.

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¡°As of mid-February, we need additional 10,000 donors on average to ensure sufficient blood product in reserve to support patients in need of a transfusion. We urge eligible donors to visit donation centers and make a donation,¡± said Red Cross

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Blood Services says each Red Cross collection site, both blood drive and donation centers, are very safe to visit as it is fully committed to safety measures with strict social distancing, additional disinfection, and donor temperature screening.

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¡à COVID-19 vaccination and donating blood

COVID-19 vaccination program is still being rolled out in Korea. Once you get COVID-19 vaccination, you will be deferred from donation for 7 days regardless of the type of vaccine. In case of a side effect, please wait an additional 7 days after you are fully recovered.

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If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, you are still eligible to donate blood 4 weeks after you have fully recovered.

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We ask donors to complete an electronic donor questionnaire before visiting the donation center to check if you are eligible to make a donation.

¢º Donor questionnaire : Korean Red Cross Donor questionnaire Donor eligibility (bloodinfo.net) 

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¡à Foreign donors in Korea

Please visit our English Website to check donor eligibility and find a donation center near you.

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KRCBS provide language assistance to foreign donors who is having difficulty communicating in Korean. To whom needs interpretation during blood donation, please check the donor eligibility first and contact donateblood@redcross.or.kr