RIO DE JANERIO, BRAZIL – The stock of five blood types at the Fundação Pró Sangue – São Paulo Hemocentro (blood bank) reached critical levels on Wednesday, March 17th: O positive, O negative, A positive, A negative and B negative. A critical level means that the blood supply is only available for one more day, at most.
The foundation’s online donation scheduling system has 90% free slots. With the exception of next Saturday, March 20th, which is the most demanded day and with all vacancies filled, donors may choose the best place and time to donate on other days.
All blood donation stations are operating normally because it is an essential service. “Blood donation is still safe. The Foundation strictly follows all recommended protocols and maintains good preventive practices for dealing with the coronavirus. However, there is a waiting period for those who have taken the covid-19 vaccine: 48 hours, in the case of the CoronaVac; and 7 days, for Oxford’s,” the foundation highlighted in a statement.
Online scheduling can be performed on Hemocentro’s website. The basic requirements for donation can be found there. Information can also be requested by calling 11 4573 7800.
The Pró-Sangue Foundation is among the five largest blood banks in Latin America and is a standard reference center of the Pan-American Health Organization and the World Health Organization. It collects and processes around 10,000 blood packs monthly, destined to serve around 100 public institutions in the state health network, among them the Clínicas Hospital, the Heart Institute, the Cancer Institute of São Paulo and the Dante Pazzanese Hospital.
Source: Agencia Brasil