LCQ13: Blood donation services of the Hong Kong Red Cross
Following is a question by Reverend Canon the Hon Peter Douglas Koon and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (July 17):
Question:
It is learnt that the blood inventories of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service have from time to time been depleted to very low levels in recent years. There are views that with the continued ageing of the population in Hong Kong, the demand for blood supply is expected to be on a continuous rise given the substantial healthcare needs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) the total blood collection and the total quantities of blood used by various public and private hospitals across the territory in each of the past five years;
(2) the respective total number of blood donors, percentage of the total number of blood donors in the population within the blood donation age bracket in Hong Kong, and percentage of the total number of regular donors in the population within the blood donation age bracket in Hong Kong in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by age group and gender);
(3) the respective total number of blood donors, total number of first-time blood donors, and total number of blood donors who had donated blood twice or more at various donor centres in each month of the past five years (with a breakdown by age group and gender);
(4) the total number of visits made by the Hong Kong Red Cross to (a) secondary schools and (b) tertiary institutions under the School Blood Donation Campaign in each of the past five years and, in such visits, the respective total numbers of (i) first-time blood donors and (ii) non-first-time blood donors; and
(5) the total number of visits made by the mobile blood donation vehicles of the Hong Kong Red Cross to different locations across the territory in each of the past five years and, in such visits, the respective total numbers of first-time blood donors and non-first-time blood donors?
Reply:
President,
The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) began to promote voluntary blood donation in Hong Kong since 1952. Under the management of the Hospital Authority (HA) since 1991, the BTS provides blood to all hospitals in Hong Kong for use by patients, and continues to be the only institution supplying blood in Hong Kong.
As the population ages and the demand for healthcare services continues to rise, the demand for blood is also increasing. However, blood collection efforts are intermittently affected by unforeseen factors, such as the COVID-19 epidemic in recent years, occasional bad weather and changes in travel habits of the public, all of which reduce the public's willingness to donate blood. In view of the above, the BTS actively encourages the public to join the league of blood donors on all fronts and through various initiatives, including introducing a range of medals and certificates to commend supportive donors who have participated in blood donation drives; designing a variety of practical souvenirs based on the mascot Captain Blood; encouraging private enterprises to arrange for their employees to participate in blood donation drives during working hours when mobile blood donation teams (MBDT) or mobile blood donation vehicles (MBDV) visit; and continuously developing more communication channels to strengthen ties with blood donors and the general public.
The Government and the HA will continue to support the work of the BTS and also call on members of the public, enterprises and organisations to fully support and participate in blood donation drives and donate blood regularly. Endeavoured to provide a stable and safe blood supply to hospitals, the BTS has set up blood donor centres (BDC) across the city and dispatches MBDT and MBDV to visit various districts in the city, offering convenience to the public to donate blood.
In consultation with the HA, the consolidated reply to the question raised by Reverend Canon the Hon Peter Douglas Koon is as follows:
(1) The annual total blood collection in Hong Kong in the past five years is set out in the table below, with over 90 per cent of the blood collected being used in public hospitals:
| Total blood collection in Hong Kong (Unit) |
|
| 2019 | 227 334 |
| 2020 | 204 808 |
| 2021 | 210 863 |
| 2022 | 204 573 |
| 2023 | 210 103 |
(2) Over the past five years, the respective total number of blood donors, percentage of the total number of blood donors among Hong Kong’s population within the blood donation age bracket, percentage of the total number of regular donors among Hong Kong’s population within the blood donation age bracket, and number of blood donations (with a breakdown by gender and age group) are set out below:
| No. of blood donors | Hong Kong's population within the blood donation age bracket (Note 1) |
Total no. of blood donors among Hong Kong's population within the blood donation age bracket (%) |
Total no. of regular blood donors among Hong Kong’s population within the blood donation age bracket (%) |
|
| 2019 | 146 200 | 6 099 700 | 2.40% | 1.90% |
| 2020 | 121 740 | 6 022 800 | 2.02% | 1.71% |
| 2021 | 121 222 | 6 002 400 | 2.02% | 1.68% |
| 2022 | 119 967 | 6 067 200 | 1.98% | 1.64% |
| 2023 | 124 503 | 6 070 300 | 2.05% | 1.69% |
Number of blood donations (by gender)
| No. of blood donations by male (%) |
No. of blood donations by female (%) |
|
| 2019 | 119 781 (52.69%) |
107 553 (47.31%) |
| 2020 | 108 623 (53.04%) |
96 185 (46.96%) |
| 2021 | 111 233 (52.75%) |
99 630 (47.25%) |
| 2022 | 109 273 (53.42%) |
95 300 (46.58%) |
| 2023 | 112 984 (53.78%) |
97 118 (46.22%) |
Number of blood donations (by age group)
| No. of blood donations by aged 16-20 (%) |
No. of blood donations by aged 21-30 (%) |
No. of blood donations by aged 31-40 (%) |
No. of blood donations by aged 41-50 (%) |
No. of blood donations by aged 51-60 (%) |
No. of blood donations by aged 61-70 (%) |
No. of blood donations by aged >70 (%) |
|
| 2019 | 22 239 (9.78%) |
48 587 (21.37%) |
53 222 (23.41%) |
54 430 (23.94%) |
39 049 (17.18%) |
9 692 (4.26%) |
115 (0.05%) |
| 2020 | 10 266 (5.01%) |
37 845 (18.48%) |
50 593 (24.70%) |
55 021 (26.86%) |
39 825 (19.45%) |
11 078 (5.41%) |
180 (0.09%) |
| 2021 | 10 113 (4.80%) |
34 320 (16.28%) |
49 037 (23.26%) |
58 436 (27.71%) |
44 536 (21.12%) |
14 134 (6.70%) |
287 (0.14%) |
| 2022 | 8 896 (4.35%) |
29 878 (14.61%) |
45 442 (22.21%) |
58 610 (28.65%) |
46 839 (22.90%) |
14 605 (7.14%) |
303 (0.15%) |
| 2023 | 11 098 (5.28%) |
29 155 (13.88%) |
45 474 (21.64%) |
60 441 (28.77%) |
48 502 (23.08%) |
15 053 (7.16%) |
379 (0.18%) |
(3) In the past five years, the total monthly blood donations by first-time blood donors and the blood donors who have given blood twice or more, which at the respective BDC, MBDT and MBDV are set out in the following tables:
| 2019 |
No. of blood donations by first-time blood donors | No. of blood donations by blood donors who have given blood twice or more (Note 2) |
||||
| BDC | MBDT | MBDV | BDC | MBDT | MBDV | |
| January | 864 | 1 941 | 38 | 12 632 | 2 162 | 327 |
| February | 1 226 | 1 292 | 24 | 14 305 | 1 947 | 148 |
| March | 1 140 | 1 356 | 16 | 14 405 | 2 921 | 95 |
| April | 843 | 880 | 76 | 13 065 | 2 483 | 284 |
| May | 1 015 | 983 | 49 | 13 590 | 2 752 | 168 |
| June | 998 | 622 | 92 | 13 578 | 2 957 | 294 |
| July | 946 | 660 | 60 | 12 408 | 2 808 | 344 |
| August | 1 131 | 1 129 | 99 | 13 612 | 2 979 | 478 |
| September | 796 | 1 493 | 132 | 12 601 | 3 181 | 588 |
| October | 908 | 2 685 | 135 | 13 226 | 3 141 | 379 |
| November | 2 096 | 1 862 | 71 | 15 460 | 2 024 | 262 |
| December | 782 | 1 462 | 135 | 13 053 | 1 964 | 676 |
| 2020 |
No. of blood donations by first-time blood donors | No. of blood donations by blood donors who have given blood twice or more (Note 2) |
||||
| BDC | MBDT | MBDV | BDC | MBDT | MBDV | |
| January | 819 | 1 365 | 96 | 11 958 | 1 678 | 522 |
| February | 1 381 | 124 | 75 | 16 617 | 426 | 622 |
| March | 974 | 252 | 107 | 12 902 | 883 | 623 |
| April | 843 | 107 | 87 | 13 091 | 556 | 595 |
| May | 1 229 | 225 | 177 | 15 652 | 1 019 | 661 |
| June | 1 378 | 431 | 109 | 15 995 | 1 575 | 564 |
| July | 888 | 149 | 59 | 10 826 | 932 | 365 |
| August | 1 615 | 32 | 103 | 16 342 | 179 | 841 |
| September | 725 | 151 | 105 | 12 235 | 723 | 543 |
| October | 779 | 834 | 70 | 13 834 | 1 457 | 513 |
| November | 896 | 1 443 | 92 | 14 181 | 1 247 | 350 |
| December | 917 | 226 | 120 | 13 967 | 881 | 470 |
| 2021 |
No. of blood donations by first-time blood donors | No. of blood donations by blood donors who have given blood twice or more (Note 2) |
||||
| BDC | MBDT | MBDV | BDC | MBDT | MBDV | |
| January | 889 | 84 | 107 | 14 149 | 439 | 493 |
| February | 1 728 | 246 | 110 | 18 456 | 1 480 | 675 |
| March | 1 131 | 402 | 65 | 14 147 | 1 313 | 344 |
| April | 808 | 169 | 119 | 12 229 | 1 193 | 490 |
| May | 839 | 400 | 99 | 13 121 | 1 117 | 406 |
| June | 1 133 | 360 | 136 | 15 490 | 1 442 | 502 |
| July | 986 | 280 | 78 | 12 685 | 1 501 | 297 |
| August | 928 | 393 | 90 | 13 683 | 1 772 | 369 |
| September | 935 | 630 | 101 | 13 814 | 1 864 | 552 |
| October | 1 094 | 1 386 | 223 | 13 014 | 1 681 | 311 |
| November | 948 | 1 410 | 195 | 13 345 | 1 249 | 345 |
| December | 909 | 1 066 | 116 | 14 369 | 1 477 | 456 |
| 2022 |
No. of blood donations by first-time blood donors | No. of blood donations by blood donors who have given blood twice or more (Note 2) |
||||
| BDC | MBDT | MBDV | BDC | MBDT | MBDV | |
| January | 905 | 358 | 111 | 12 853 | 1 046 | 478 |
| February | 1 709 | 241 | 86 | 14 857 | 959 | 496 |
| March | 756 | 97 | 108 | 11 421 | 549 | 635 |
| April | 1 050 | 106 | 165 | 15 861 | 633 | 714 |
| May | 1 091 | 392 | 123 | 13 897 | 1 394 | 551 |
| June | 1 135 | 475 | 115 | 13 643 | 1 875 | 515 |
| July | 1 029 | 343 | 141 | 13 424 | 1 443 | 415 |
| August | 907 | 488 | 57 | 12 146 | 1 853 | 436 |
| September | 824 | 611 | 168 | 13 605 | 1 261 | 363 |
| October | 1 100 | 1 066 | 251 | 15 042 | 1 701 | 404 |
| November | 730 | 974 | 188 | 10 731 | 843 | 412 |
| December | 1 371 | 856 | 124 | 16 233 | 1 135 | 498 |
| 2023 |
No. of blood donations by first-time blood donors | No. of blood donations by blood donors who have given blood twice or more (Note 2) |
||||
| BDC | MBDT | MBDV | BDC | MBDT | MBDV | |
| January | 1 237 | 645 | 162 | 13 628 | 1 034 | 463 |
| February | 1 420 | 1 052 | 131 | 14 445 | 921 | 507 |
| March | 1 123 | 1 042 | 244 | 13 820 | 1 369 | 381 |
| April | 649 | 607 | 86 | 12 274 | 1 440 | 406 |
| May | 1 447 | 792 | 123 | 15 927 | 1 513 | 500 |
| June | 977 | 438 | 103 | 13 868 | 1 984 | 456 |
| July | 921 | 537 | 104 | 12 664 | 1 861 | 500 |
| August | 816 | 418 | 118 | 12 865 | 1 948 | 531 |
| September | 801 | 472 | 131 | 13 938 | 1 872 | 406 |
| October | 769 | 884 | 209 | 13 521 | 1 220 | 374 |
| November | 728 | 1 014 | 225 | 12 919 | 1 407 | 335 |
| December | 839 | 610 | 167 | 15 048 | 1 217 | 499 |
For information on the age group and gender of blood donors, please refer to the reply to part (2) of the question above.
(4) In the past five years, the total number of visits to secondary schools and tertiary institutions under the School Blood Donation Campaign, as well as the total number of donations during these visits by first-time blood donors and blood donors who have given blood twice or more are listed as follows:
Secondary Schools
| No. of visits by MBDT or MBDV of the BTS | No. of registrations | No. of successful blood donations | No. of blood donations by first-time blood donors | No. of blood donations by blood donors who have given blood twice or more | |
| 2019 | 286 | 17 898 | 13 414 | 7 273 | 6 141 |
| 2020 | 110 (Note 3) | 5 742 | 4 442 | 2 237 | 2 205 |
| 2021 | 131 (Note 3) | 5 942 | 4 744 | 2 482 | 2 262 |
| 2022 | 112 (Note 3) | 4 688 | 3 756 | 2 048 | 1 708 |
| 2023 | 171 | 7 588 | 5 803 | 3 722 | 2 081 |
Tertiary Institutions
| No. of visits by MBDT or MBDV of the BTS | No. of registrations | No. of successful blood donations | No. of blood donations by first-time blood donors | No. of blood donations by blood donors who have given blood twice or more | |
| 2019 | 60 | 4 042 | 2 887 | 1 009 | 1 878 |
| 2020 | 9 (Note 3) | 439 | 318 | 81 | 237 |
| 2021 | 38 (Note 3) | 2 067 | 1 664 | 657 | 1 007 |
| 2022 | 46(Note 3) | 2 407 | 1 977 | 1 143 | 834 |
| 2023 | 73 | 3 580 | 2 821 | 1 349 | 1 472 |
(5) In the past five years, the annual total number of visits by the MBDV of the BTS to different locations as well as the number of donations by first-time blood donors and blood donors who have given blood twice or more during these visits are tabulated below:
| No. of days of visits | Parking points | No. of blood donations by first-time blood donors | No. of blood donations by blood donors who have given blood twice or more | |
| 2019 | 157 (Note 4) | 32 | 927 | 4 043 |
| 2020 | 314 | 30 | 1 200 | 6 669 |
| 2021 | 303 | 58 | 1 439 | 5 240 |
| 2022 | 327 | 62 | 1 637 | 5 917 |
| 2023 | 317 | 95 | 1 803 | 5 358 |
Note 1: The BTS accepts blood donations from people aged 16-75. This population data in this part is extracted from the information of the Census and Statistics Department.
Note 2: Donors who have donated blood twice or more include donors of apheresis donation. Donors of apheresis donation may donate blood more than once a month, so the figures in the table are the number of blood donations.
Note 3: The number of visits by MBDT and MBDV to secondary schools and tertiary institutions decreased due to the suspension of classes during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Note 4: In April 2019, the BTS introduced a new MBDV to increase the quantity of blood collection.