DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Health & Science

Taiwan Faces Critical Blood Shortage; Businessman Organizes 25th Annual Donation Drive

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Taiwan faces a severe blood shortage, with current reserves at only 2.9 days, significantly below the 7-day safety standard.
  • To combat the deficit, especially during the summer holidays and the traditional Ghost Month, businessman Wu Chun-shan is organizing a blood drive for the 25th consecutive year.
  • The initiative aims to collect blood from August 12-14, offering incentives and highlighting a concerning decline in blood donation rates among young people.

Taiwan's blood banks are critically low, with only about 2.9 days of supply remaining, a situation exacerbated by the summer holiday season and traditional beliefs surrounding the seventh lunar month, known as Ghost Month.

To address this urgent need, Li Ming Construction Chairman Wu Chun-shan is spearheading his 25th annual blood donation drive from August 12 to 14 in Taichung. He noted that blood reserves are typically lower during this period due to people traveling and a reluctance to donate blood during the Ghost Month. The current overall blood supply is well below the 7-day safety margin, with O-type blood being the most scarce.

Summer holidays are causing a blood shortage, and the lack of blood is even more severe during the seventh lunar month. We have been holding blood donation activities every year in July for 25 years.

— Wu Chun-shanWu Chun-shan, chairman of Li Ming Construction, explained the recurring blood shortage during the summer and Ghost Month.

Wu, who began donating blood in his twenties and continued until the legal age limit of 65, has mobilized over 30 organizations from various sectors, including construction, finance, and social welfare, to support the initiative. His drives have collected over 20,195 units of blood since they began, with last year setting a record of 2,152 units.

The overall blood supply is well below the 7-day safety inventory standard, and the situation is very severe.

— Wu Chun-shanWu Chun-shan highlighted the critical state of blood reserves.

However, Wu expressed concern over a declining trend in blood donation rates among younger generations. Data shows a significant drop in donors aged 17-20, from 14.09% in 2018 to 8.26% in 2025. This trend poses a new challenge to maintaining a stable blood supply for the Taichung Blood Center, which serves four counties and cities and requires 1,800 units daily.

The blood drive will offer incentives such as mystery gift bags, almond shortbread cookies, and a raffle with prizes like bicycles and hot spring vouchers. Organizers urge the public to donate blood to help alleviate the critical shortage.

The blood donation rate among the 17 to 20-year-old age group has decreased from 14.09% in 2018 to 8.26% in 2025, indicating that the younger generation participating in blood donation is gradually decreasing.

— Wu Chun-shanWu Chun-shan pointed out the declining participation of young people in blood donation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog