National Blood Bank sends out SOS

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The national Blood Bank is sending an urgent appeal to donors as its supply is fast reaching critical level.
It has 137 hospitals in the Klang Valley to service but its stock has dropped to well below its secure level of 2,500 pints.
“At present, there is only about 1,300 pints in the bank,” said its director Datuk Dr Yasmin Ayob, who has made an urgent call for more donors.
Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Putrajaya Hospital are among those that depended solely on the blood bank for supply.
Conceding that the fasting month had made most Muslims “unfit” to donate blood during the day, Dr Yasmin said the bank has extended its operating hours to 9pm daily to encourage them to save lives by donating blood.
She said it was a common misconception that blood is needed during the Hari Raya celebrations because of the increasing number of accidents.
The centre in Jalan Tun Razak (next to the National Library) operates from 7.30am to 9pm from Monday to Friday this week to enable more people to donate blood.