Surgeries in Cyprus could be postponed due to a shortage of blood, with thalassemia patients also affected, the newspaper Fileleftheros reported.
The paper, in a story headlined “Danger of Postponed Surgeries Looms,” said Cyprus needs 350 units of blood daily but has recently been collecting only 150 to 200 units a day. It said doctors, patients and caregivers have repeatedly raised warnings about the shortage.
Miltos Miltiadus, president of the Cyprus Thalassaemia Association, told the paper he feared for what the coming days might bring. He said notifications of postponed blood transfusions are continuing, and stressed that for thalassemia patients, transfusions are not an occasional need but a procedure some require every one to two weeks.
Miltiadus said the association has repeatedly asked the health ministry to find solutions to the shortage.
