Turkish Red Crescent Chairperson Kerem Kınık called for blood donations, highlighting that over 40,000 units of blood were donated on the first day and over 30,000 units on the second day after the colossal earthquake rocked Türkiye on Feb. 6.
He also asked new donors to continue to give donations.
Reiterating that a blood donation call was made immediately after the disaster to fill the empty stocks, Kınık told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they ''quickly shipped the blood stocks that were kept ready for emergencies to the region affected by the earthquakes.''
"Our nation rushed to donate blood with its usual sensitivity and refilled our emergency stocks. More than 40,000 units of blood were donated on the first day and over 30,000 units on the second day. However, since blood is a treatment tool that cannot be stored for a long time, we conduct blood tests and collect new units every day during the year,'' Kınık explained.
"We need to provide them (blood units) and make them available to hospitals. For this, we ask our blood donors to spread their blood donations over the upcoming days. We thank all our donors for their sensitivity," he maintained.
Pointing out that Type O-negative is very important, Kınık also noted that during any emergency the blood needs of the wounded people can be met with this type.
"However, in our society, the blood rate of Type O-negative is lower than in other groups. For example, of the 40,000 units donated on the first day, only 1,300 units was Type O-negative," he explained.
Underscoring that approximately 3 million blood donations are needed annually in Türkiye, Kınık said: "This rate means approximately 8,000-9,000 units of blood donation per day. The Red Crescent works with blood collection planning of approximately 10,000-12,000 units every day, taking into account the continuous maintenance of emergency stocks.''
