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Crisis looms as city blood banks grapple with blood shortage
There are 373 blood banks registered with the State Blood Transfusion Council, 57 (public and private) out of which are from Pune district
PUNE: Blood shortage has reached alarming levels at the peak of summer with several blood banks in the city reporting stocks that would last for the next four to 10 days only amid inability on the part of health authorities and voluntary organisations to organise blood donation camps to make up for the deficit. As such, citizens are urged to come forward to donate blood despite the existence of an ‘illogical’ fear that donating blood during summer causes weakness.
There are 373 blood banks registered with the State Blood Transfusion Council, 57 (public and private) out of which are from Pune district. As the blood banks are facing acute blood shortage due to the absence of blood donation camps, arranging for blood has become a challenge for hospital authorities. Some of the blood banks have already exhausted their stock of negative and AB positive blood and the response to arranging blood donation camps is also poor.
Dr Nisha Teli, blood transfusion officer at the Aundh District Blood Bank, the main blood bank for all blood banks in the district run by the public health department, said, “There is currently a stock of only 38 blood bags which will last for the next four days. This month, there has been a severe shortage of blood and only one blood donation camp was conducted in May. Even during that blood donation camp, only 20 to 25 donors turned up. The blood stock that we have is currently due to the mega blood donation camp conducted in the month of April.”
Dr Teli said that they have exhausted the stock of negative and AB positive blood. “I have been trying hard to convince people and donors to arrange blood donation camps for the entire month but without success. We hope that we will succeed in arranging blood donation camps soon else the situation will be difficult in the coming days,” she said.
Ram Bangad, founder, NGO ‘Raktache Nate’, said, that there will be scarcity of blood in the city till the end of May after which there will be acute blood shortage in June, considering there is not a single blood donation camp scheduled in June. “Colleges and educational institutes are closed and youngsters are among the frequent blood donors. With the monsoon beginning in June, vector-borne diseases will surface. After the suspected heatwave-related deaths during an event in Mumbai, conducting blood donation camps between 12 pm and 5 pm is not allowed,” Bangad said.
“To overcome the shortage, religious organisations, social organisations, political parties and youth organisations should come together,” Bangad said.
According to doctors, the summer months see fewer people donating blood due to the ‘illogical’ fear that donating in this season leads to weakness. Dr Somnath Khedkar, in-charge of the blood bank at Sassoon General Hospital, said that there is a shortage of blood in the entire city given the lack of blood donation camps in summer. “We have a stock of 550 blood bags, thanks to the mega blood donation camp held in the month of April. The stock will last for the next 10 to 12 days and there is need for blood donation camps to be organised. We are getting requests for blood but we cannot give blood to outside patients as it will then be difficult to fulfil the requirement of Sassoon Hospital patients,” Dr Khedkar said.
