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Amid dengue surge, Prayagraj blood banks offer blood sans donors
Thousands of units of blood (packed red blood cell or PRBC) with limited shelf life have got collected in the government and private blood banks as well as hospitals of the district, officials said.
Efforts made by blood banks to ensure adequate supply of platelets amid dengue surge has led to a piquant situation in Prayagraj.
Thousands of units of blood (packed red blood cell or PRBC) with limited shelf life have got collected in the government and private blood banks as well as hospitals of the district, officials said.
This blood was collected to make platelets for dengue patients. A whopping 19,172 units of platelets were made and provided to the needy from four big blood banks of the district in September and October. Still, 5,459 units of blood, with a shelf life of 35 to 42 days, has been accumulated in the blood banks .
To ensure distribution of this blood within time, in-charge and staff of blood banks have started contacting needy people and hospitals offering blood sans any donor, in Prayagraj and its neighbouring districts of Pratapgarh, Kaushambi and Fatehpur.
“To ensure that the blood available with us gets best used by the needy, we have started providing it to the needy without donors. However, for this patient or his/her kin needs to pay ₹1,300 for each unit of blood,” said Dr Ashutosh Gupta, secretary, Allahabad Medical Association (AMA).
There has been a surge in platelet demand in past two months. In July and August, two of the total four blood banks in Prayagraj supplied 6,439 units of platelets while other two faced no demand at all. However, dengue surge led to demand shooting up to 19,172 units in September and October.
Records show that maximum 11, 102 units of platelets were supplied by the AMA blood bank itself while the SRN Hospital’s blood bank supplied another 3400 units during this period followed by blood bank at Tej Bahadur Sapru (Beli) Hospital (2,553 units) and Moti Lal Nehru (Colvin) Divisional Hospital blood bank (2,117 units).
In July and August, AMA blood bank had provided 6,239 units of platelets while SRN Hospital blood bank provided 200 units while other two blood banks located at Beli and Colvin Hospitals saw no demand.
Records of the blood banks show that at AMA blood bank, 1,952 units of PRBC have accumulated while at SRN Hospital blood bank 1,517 units are available. Likewise, at Beli Hospital blood bank 1,021 units and at Colvin Hospital there are 969 units of PRBC are available.
Hemant Shukla, the store in-charge of SRN Hospital blood bank also said that to ensure that blood available at the blood bank reaches the needy, it is being given without a donor. “The price fixed is ₹1050 per unit. In our store we have maximum O and B positive blood groups,” he added.
A health department official said RBCs and packed cells—are a type of blood replacement product used for blood transfusions. PRBC transfusion is typically given in situations where the patient has either lost a large amount of blood or has anaemia.
