Hospitals say blood shortages will delay operations

Shortages of blood have intensified over the summer, sources say, with some hospitals finding themselves obliged to postpone scheduled operations.

Evangelismos, the capital’s largest hospital, is a case in point. According to the head of the workers’ union, Ilias Sioras, the situation at Evangelismos is critical.

“There are 30 operations planned for the next two to three days but, based on the current data from the blood bank, the available units of blood are not enough for even half of those operations,” he said. 

Every summer blood donations drop in Greece, which continues to lag its European Union counterparts in this area.