Hospitals in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta are facing an alarming blood shortage, leaving doctors anxious and patients waiting desperately for each drop.

At Can Tho Central General Hospital, an average of 700–800 units of blood are needed weekly. However, over the past three months, the hospital has only been able to secure about 20% of its actual needs. Current reserves stand at just 427 units - enough for only four to five more days.

The hospital has issued notices to all departments, urging strict rationing of blood, using it only when absolutely necessary, and prioritizing emergency cases. Non-urgent procedures requiring transfusions are being postponed.

“We have reached out to the Ho Chi Minh City Blood Transfusion Hematology Hospital for additional supplies, but they could only provide partial support. If this situation continues, it will severely impact our ability to care for and treat patients,” said Le Hoang Phuc, Head of the Planning and General Department at Can Tho Central General Hospital.

The Can Tho Blood Transfusion Hematology Hospital - considered the region’s blood bank - is also struggling, supplying hospitals only sparingly. Doctors are frustrated, and patients are heartbroken.

Thirty-five-year-old Truong Thanh Phuoc from Dong Thap Province has suffered from bone marrow failure for nearly five years, requiring blood transfusions twice a month. The family’s breadwinner, he now spends long days in hospital while his wife tends to him and their two young children stay with grandparents.

“I’ve been in hospital for three days and still don’t know when I’ll get a transfusion. Travel, accommodation, and food costs keep adding up,” Phuoc said anxiously.

According to Phan Thi To Loan, Deputy Head of the Screening, Processing, and Blood Distribution Department, the hospital receives up to 5,000 units of blood monthly - less than half of the 14,000 units needed by 74 hospitals across the Mekong Delta.

To increase donations, the hospital has renovated its blood donation rooms, organized drives targeting the public, university students, and government agencies, and even encouraged its own staff to donate. These efforts have raised intake to as high as 60 units a day at peak times, but it remains a stopgap measure.

“Donors can only give every three months, while patients need blood daily. Reserves are shrinking, with no sign of improvement. As the main center for receiving and distributing blood products, it’s painful to watch colleagues travel long distances just to secure a few units,” Loan said.

Huynh Minh Phu, Director of the Can Tho Blood Transfusion Hematology Hospital, explained that recent administrative reorganizations at the local level have disrupted blood donation campaigns. Many commune- and ward-level blood donation committees have not yet been re-established, making it difficult to mobilize donors. Nationwide shortages also mean central supplies cannot meet demand.

“We have informed hospitals to prepare for the shortfall and sent official letters to provincial and city leaders urging residents to donate blood to save lives,” Phu said.

Tran Tuyen