Materia Medica Malaysiana

10 states get blood from disease-free donors, says Chua


KOTA TINGGI Nov 30 - Ten states have achieved the target of receiving 100 percent blood donation from those certified free of infectious diseases, said Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng.

He said with the presence of volunteer blood donors, the states need not look for replacement donors in cases of blood shortage or emergencies at their respective hospitals.

The states are Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Pahang, Perak, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Chua said Selangor, Johor and Sarawak were moving towards achieving this target and had recorded 99.9 percent blood from volunteer donors, with Sabah at the 86.7 percent mark.

The Health Ministry was taking steps to ensure that 100 percent blood at public hospitals nationwide was from volunteer donors, he told reporters after launching the blood-donation drive organised by the Tenggara MCA division here Sunday.

"We (ministry) want to ensure that there is no blood from replacement donors as there is no guarantee that this blood is safe," he said.

He said 418,118 units of blood were collected from donors nationwide last year and out of this, only 4.1 percent was found to be contaminated with, among others, HIV, Hepatitis B, C and syphilis.

"This is due to the donors not disclosing their personal information," he said.

He also said there was enough blood supply at hospitals nationwide despite the alarming number of 7,532 accidents reported in the current festive season.

MEANWHILE, on another matter, Chua expressed disappointment over the delay of the construction of the referral hospital for cancer diseases in the southern part of the country, the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI), at Pandan.

He added that the RM557.8 million project had been delayed three times since works started in 1999.

"It should have been completed last Oct 31. Now it's been delayed again," he told reporters after launching a blood donation campaign organised by MCA branches in Tenggara Division at the Che Teng Khor Moral Uplifting Society Hall here Sunday.

Chua said he had directed the Johor Health Department to find out from the contractor involved the reason for the delay.

"Sufficient time has been given to the contractor to complete the project ... yet it is still not ready," he said.

He said only one or two percent of the project had yet to be completed, such as finishing and installation of hospital equipment which had yet to be delivered.