Tokyo Red Cross Blood Center Loses 13,700 Plasma Units, 2.5 Million COVID-19 Doses Expired Worth 240 Billion Yen

The Japanese Red Cross Society's blood center in Tokyo reported that approximately 13,700 units of fresh frozen plasma blood became unusable due to a power failure affecting a freezer in May. The issue was caused by the incorrect installation of a terminal block with a different voltage standard on the freezer's temperature control panel. This incident resulted in the loss of about 1.2% of the annual supply of fresh frozen plasma. The Red Cross notified the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare about the incident on June 10. Separately, the Japanese government discarded around 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 oral antiviral medication purchased for free distribution to medical institutions after the drugs expired during fiscal year 2024. The expiration was linked to the reclassification of COVID-19 to a Category 5 infectious disease, which ended the provision of these medications. The discarded medication was valued at approximately 240 billion yen.