ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The non-remunerated blood programme in Korea was delegated to the Korean Red Cross by the government since 1982 and 98% of blood for transfusion in medical facilities was supplied by KRC in 1999. This study was conducted to analyze the activities of recent ten years. METHODS: The quantities and trends of blood collection and transfusion were analyzed on the basis of annual report of Korean Red Cross. RESLUTS: Between 1990 and 1999, the number of annual blood donation increased from 1.1 million to 2.5 million units reaching 5.4 percent of total population in 1999. About 20 percent of total donation were plasmapheresis in 1999. The total number of whole blood transfusion decreased from 249,239 in 1990 to 47,814 units in 1999. The component transfusion of RBCs and Platelets increased from 0.7 million to 1.5 million and from 0.2 million to 1.1 million units, respectively. The stational donation rooms were opened actively from 1993 and more than 90 donation rooms were established in 1999. CONCLUSIONS: The total number of blood collected and transfused increased greatly. The component donation and individual voluntary donation are increasing. The quality control on blood programme conducted by Korean Red Cross was enforced.