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Pune faces acute blood shortage
Blood banks face a critical shortage of blood around Diwali due to significantly less or no blood donation drives as offices and colleges are shut due to the festival
The city is grappling with a shortage of blood with very few donation camps held during the festival period, said officials.
According to the officials, of the 373 blood banks registered with the State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC), 57 (public and private) are in Pune district. Hospitals and prominent blood banks like Metro Blood Bank, Sassoon General Hospital, Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital, KEM Hospital, Jehangir Hospital and Bharati Vidyapeeth, amongst others are facing shortage of blood.
Ram Bangad, founder, NGO Raktache Nate, said, “While the festive period saw less camps, few donors took part. We are getting several calls from patients and hospitals inquiring about blood donation camps.”
Blood banks face a critical shortage of blood around Diwali due to significantly less or no blood donation drives as offices and colleges are shut due to the festival.
Dr Nisha Teli, blood transfusion officer, Metro Blood Bank, Aundh, said that the last donation camp was held during the Swasth Nari Sashakt Parivar Abhiyaan (SNSPA) on October 1. “We are struggling to arrange blood donation camp,” she said.
Dr Yallapa Jadhav, medical superintendent, Sassoon General Hospital, said, “There is a shortage of blood in the city due to no blood donation camps. We urge citizens to donate blood and participate in the camp in large numbers.”
Dr Purshottam Puri, deputy director, SBTC, said, “The supply is comparatively less during the Diwali and post-Diwali period. People do donate blood during an emergency. The situation is likely to improve in the next week.”
