PUNE: With the surge in- dengue cases in the district and consequently, the demand for platelets - leading to a shortage of blood at a time when blood donation camps and drives have ground to a halt due to the pandemic and lockdown, Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh has ordered a district-wide blood donation camp in all 13 talukas under the Pune zilla parishad on September 22.
The order issued on Sunday states, “There has been a rise in dengue, malaria and chikungunya cases in the district in various areas. These infections lead to a drop in platelets and due to the current pandemic, schools, colleges, social organisations and private offices are shut and so, the usual blood donation drives carried out by these organisations have come to a halt leading to a shortage of blood in the district. To overcome this shortage of blood and to ensure that no one faces any difficulty due to the shortage, a massive all taluka-level blood donation drive will be organised in the 13 talukas in the district on September 22.”
The blood donation camp will be organised in collaboration with district officials at the taluka level, doctors from the District Hospital Aundh, and blood banks.
Dr Milind Kulkarni, pathalogist at the District Hospital Aundh who has been appointed as the nodal officer for the drive, said, “We have been facing a shortage of blood now mainly because post monsoon, the number of dengue, malaria and chikungunya cases have gone up and so has the demand for platelets. The taluka level officials have been asked to coordinate the drive along with multiple blood banks from the city and rural areas that have come forward to organise this drive along with us. Anyone aged 18 to 65 years can donate blood; the body weight of the person must be more than 45kg and the haemoglobin must be 12.5. If anyone has donated blood prior to this drive, a four-month gap in case of women and a three-month gap in case of men must be maintained. Persons with a recent history of serious ailments such as typhoid, dengue, chikungunya, zika or tuberculosis, or with habits like alcoholism, or those who have had any major surgeries in the past one year, or those who have got a tattoo in the last one year, will not be eligible for blood donation.”
{{/usCountry}}Dr Milind Kulkarni, pathalogist at the District Hospital Aundh who has been appointed as the nodal officer for the drive, said, “We have been facing a shortage of blood now mainly because post monsoon, the number of dengue, malaria and chikungunya cases have gone up and so has the demand for platelets. The taluka level officials have been asked to coordinate the drive along with multiple blood banks from the city and rural areas that have come forward to organise this drive along with us. Anyone aged 18 to 65 years can donate blood; the body weight of the person must be more than 45kg and the haemoglobin must be 12.5. If anyone has donated blood prior to this drive, a four-month gap in case of women and a three-month gap in case of men must be maintained. Persons with a recent history of serious ailments such as typhoid, dengue, chikungunya, zika or tuberculosis, or with habits like alcoholism, or those who have had any major surgeries in the past one year, or those who have got a tattoo in the last one year, will not be eligible for blood donation.”
{{/usCountry}}Human blood primarily has three components namely, red blood cells that transport oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues, white blood cells that help the body fight infections, and platelets that help the blood to clot.