1. How many units of blood needed every day in Singapore?
We need about 200 units of blood every day, which amounts to about 8 units every hour.

2. Do voluntary donors donate all the blood?
Singapore practices unpaid voluntary blood donation following the international recognized model of donor practices. All of our blood products are donated voluntarily.

3. What will happen if we are running short with our blood supply?
Hopefully this situation will not happen with the support of the general population. If we are in shortage for blood, the non-urgent elective surgery may need to be postponed to a latter date. When the situation deteriorates, it may reach the point where patient health can be severely jeopardized.

4. How many "components "can be separated from one collection of whole blood?
There are three major components made from your donation:
a. Packed red blood cells which was used for patient with anaemia or undergoing surgery
b. Platelets which is used for patients with low platelet counts (e.g. leukemia, cancer).
c. Fresh frozen plasma which was used for patients with bleeding disorders (burns, liver disease, clotting factors deficiency)
Therefore, every one of your donation can be beneficial to up to three different patients.

5. How long can blood be stored?

Product shelf life
· Packed red cells - 42 days
· Platelets - 5 days
· Fresh Frozen Plasma - 1 year
· Frozen red cells - 10 years

6. What will happen to the blood when it reach the expiry date?
More than 90% of our blood products are used for patients and we minimize waste as far as possible. We regularly freeze red cells that are near their expiry date and convert them to frozen stock which can be kept for up to 10 years.
For blood products whose shelf life we cannot prolong by any other methods, we have to dispose of them in a safe manner, adhering by strict regulatory standards

7. Why can't I donate my blood to a specific person like my parents, siblings or friends?
Such 'directed donation' are generally discouraged, based on the following reasons:

· Directed blood donation has higher risks than voluntary, unpaid blood donation. This is because the relatives of the blood recipient often feels compelled to donate and may therefore hide certain facts when answering the medical questionnaire, which in normal circumstances would lead to deferral from blood donation,.
· There is a higher chance of 'Graft versus Host Disease', which has high mortality rate, because of the close genetic disposition of both the blood donor and recipient.
· The blood-related recipient may develop HLA antibodies against the donors cells and this can jeopardize their chances of receiving a compatible bone marrow if such a need arises in the future.
· A husband donating blood to his wife may lead to a small risk to the baby in future pregnancies. The mother may develop antibody to the baby and cause 'haemolytic' disease of the newborn if the infant inherits the similar antigen from the father.

8. Is there any substitute or artificial blood products in the market?
There have been intensive researches done on artificial red cells (e.g. perfluorohydrocarbons and haemoglobin solutions) but all of them contains significant toxicities and have not been very successful yet.
Currently, there are recombinant clotting factors available which are free from potential infections from blood products (e.g. Hepatitis B and C, HIV etc)

9. What is the "window period" of an infection and why is that so important to understand this concept?
The "window period" is the time interval between infection and detection of infection by currently available tests. In the case of HIV, the window period can be shortened to around 11 days with the newest, most advanced test.
However, this "window period" remains and is unlikely to be ever fully removed. It is therefore extremely important to be absolutely truthful in answering the Medical Questionnaire and refrain from blood donations if there is any possibility of exposing to any transfusion related infection (e.g. Hepatitis B, C and HIV).