Lockdown cast its shadow on World Blood Donor Day as the blood transfusion authorities in the city had to cancel a blood donation camp scheduled to be held at a marriage place on the Rahon Road, while only 15 donors arrived at another camp held at the civil hospital here on Sunday.
Blood transfusion officer at the civil hospital Dr Gurinderdeep Singh Grewal said the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown had adversely affected the blood donation programmes.
“However, after the lifting of the complete lockdown, we organised several camps to meet the shortage of blood in hospitals. We were expecting an encouraging response today, but people could not reach the venue for blood donation due to lockdown,” said Dr Grewal.
He said the department has also cancelled the blood donation camp scheduled for June 21 at Raikot.
“We will now hold camps during weekdays. We are holding one medical camp in Samrala on June 17 and another on June 19 at the ancestral house of Shaheed Sukhdev at Naughara,” said Dr Grewal.
He admitted the blood transfusion unit at the civil hospital was operating under tremendous stress due to shortfall in blood.
{{/usCountry}}He admitted the blood transfusion unit at the civil hospital was operating under tremendous stress due to shortfall in blood.
{{/usCountry}}“We received a demand of 196 units on Saturday while a demand of 155 units on Sunday. So, more blood donation camps are the only solution to solve the problem,” said Dr Grewal.
As many as 70 people, including doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, donated blood at the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH).
The theme for this year’s World Blood Donor Day was “Safe blood saves lives” with the slogan “Give blood and make the world a healthier place”.