TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The arrival of several cold fronts has dampened the public’s willingness to venture outdoors, leading to fewer donations at blood banks across Taiwan and causing the national blood supply to drop to just 6.1 days.

The Taiwan Blood Services Foundation considers a blood supply of 7-10 days as “safe,” 4-7 days as “low,” and less than four days as “urgent.” As of 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, type A blood supplies stood at 6.4 days, while type O blood dropped to 4.9 days. Supplies of type B and AB blood remain within the normal range, according to CNA.

Blood inventories across Taiwan vary by region. The Hsinchu Blood Center has 7.1 days of supply, the Taichung Blood Center has 6.4 days, the Kaohsiung Blood Center has 6.7 days, and the Taipei Blood Center has the lowest, with only 4.7 days of supply.

Liu Chun-hung (劉俊宏), planning director of the Taipei Blood Center, said in a telephone interview on Saturday that Taipei’s inventory of type O blood is particularly critical, with only 3.6 days of supply remaining. Type A blood has 4.6 days, type B blood has 6.3 days, and type AB blood is within the normal range at 7.7 days.

Liu explained that when blood inventory falls below five days, hospitals may experience delays in receiving supplies. He attributed the decline in donations to the impact of successive northeasterly monsoon winds and colder temperatures, which have not only discouraged people from going out but also led to an increase in colds and other illnesses. This flu season, recovery times are expected to be longer than usual, further complicating donation efforts, even as demand from medical institutions remains steady.

With just 23 days until Lunar New Year, Liu said the Taipei Blood Center needs to collect 59,000 bags of blood to ensure stable operations at local hospitals.