The Tokyo Metropolitan Red Cross Blood Center will station a blood donation bus in front of the west entrance of the Palaceside Building for two days starting tomorrow (October 14 and 15), calling for cooperation with blood donation. The Japanese Red Cross Society appeals: “The serious decline in blood donors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continues. For the sake of patients waiting for transfusions, we need the cooperation of as many people as possible.”
The building hosts blood drives roughly twice a year, in spring and autumn. In light of the pandemic, donations will be accepted under thorough, reinforced infection controls, including a cap on the number of people inside the bus at any one time. Drawing the blood itself takes only about 10 minutes, but the whole process, including an interview with a doctor, takes 30 to 40 minutes from reception to completion. Donors are provided with the results of tests such as ALT (GTP) and gamma-GTP, which the Red Cross says can be put to good use in managing one's health.
Depending on the medication you are taking, you may not be able to donate, so please consult the staff at the venue. Those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine may still donate as long as at least 48 hours have passed. We warmly ask for your cooperation.