"Dujjonku Solves Blood Shortages"... Surge in Donors Thanks to Nurses' Behind-the-Scenes Efforts

Visiting Cafes to Persuade, Leading to Increased Citizen Participation
Blood Donation Reservations Rise 2 to 5 Times, Raising Hopes for Easing the Crisis

As blood shortages recur every winter, blood centers across the country have been striving to increase blood donation participation by offering unique gifts. In Busan, the proactive efforts of on-site nurses have drawn attention for delivering tangible results.

During the blood donation off-season, the Busan Blood Center held a promotion on the 23rd at 13 Blood Donation Houses, offering "Dujjonku" to whole blood and platelet donors for one day. Yonhap News

According to the Busan Blood Center of the Korean Red Cross on January 24, the 13 Blood Donation Houses in Busan held a limited-time event the previous day, providing one "Dubai Sticky Cookie (Dujjonku)"-a dessert recently in short supply-to each whole blood and platelet donor. News quickly spread that donors could receive this popular dessert, resulting in a surge of citizens at each donation center.

At the Seomyeon Center, there were 20 reservations each for the morning and afternoon sessions, about twice the usual number. Lines formed early in the day, and the center remained busy throughout. A Busan Blood Center official explained, "We were very concerned as January is typically when blood reserves are at their lowest, but thanks to this event, more than twice the usual number of citizens participated in blood donation."

This idea originated from internal discussions on how to improve Busan’s blood reserves, which were below the national average. As of the previous day, Busan’s supply of red blood cell products stood at 2.5 days-only half of the recommended five-day standard. By blood type, AB was the most scarce at 1.5 days, followed by O at 1.7 days, A at 2.1 days, and B at 4.2 days. Considering the national average reserve is 4.2 days, Busan’s situation is relatively more urgent.

On the 20th, citizens are donating blood at the Red Cross Blood Donation Center Yeonsu in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. The recent 'Dujjonku (Dubai Sticky Cookie)' giveaway event, conducted due to blood shortages in winter, is gaining attention. Photo by Yonhap News

The main challenge was securing the gifts. Initially, administrative staff inquired about quantities at large cafes and bakeries, but because Dujjonku was hard to source, most were unable to cooperate. A Busan Blood Center official said, "At that time, Dujjonku was so rare that each person could only buy one or two," adding, "Due to the high number of tourists in Busan, it was even harder to secure enough supply."

Nurses Sourced 'Dujjonku' by Visiting Cafes and Explaining the Purpose of Blood Donation

Ultimately, the nurses took matters into their own hands. They visited small local cafes one by one, explaining the purpose of blood donation and asking for help. After about a week of effort, they succeeded in getting support from some cafes. They secured between 20 and 100 cookies from each, collecting a total of 650 Dujjonku from 13 businesses. To ensure freshness, nurses personally picked up the cookies either the evening before or the morning of the event and distributed them on-site. Recently, a cafe in Jeonpo-dong’s cafe street offered to donate 100 more cookies, and an additional event is being planned.

The impact of the Dujjonku giveaway was not limited to Busan; similar effects were observed in the Seoul metropolitan area and the Honam region. On January 23, the Gwanghwamun Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, held a Dujjonku event for whole blood and platelet donors, resulting in about 50 reservations in a single day-a significant increase. As of 1 p.m. that day, 466 donors had visited the 14 Blood Donation Houses overseen by the Seoul Eastern Blood Center, about 2.5 times more than the same day a week earlier.

The situation was similar in Gwangju and Jeonnam. At the Chungjangno Center in Dong-gu, Gwangju, lines formed even before opening when the Dujjonku giveaway was announced, and daily reservations reached 100-five times the usual number. An official from the Gwangju-Jeonnam Blood Center said, "Even though group donations decrease during school breaks, we saw an unusually high turnout. To secure the gifts, our staff personally visited cafes to ask for cooperation."

However, whether this temporary effect will lead to long-term stability in blood supply remains a challenge. According to the Blood Management Headquarters of the Korean Red Cross, as of the previous day, the nationwide blood reserve stood at about 4.2 days, still short of the recommended five-day standard.