The coronavirus outbreak has hit blood banks as the shortage of blood has emerged in the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) Blood Bank.
If blood donation camps are organized, it will trigger a blood shortage crisis in the district and can cause severe problems for those reeling under thalassemia, anaemia, cancer patients and also pregnant woman ,said officials of the blood bank.
If official sources are to be believed, only three units of B +ve , 2 units of A+ve group, 1 unit of AB +ve group and 12 units of O +ve group blood are now available in the blood bank of DHH. Not a single unit of -ve group blood is available in the blood bank. It is only due to lockdown following the donors and people preferred to stay indoors in the ongoing lockdown and the donation of blood came down.
Though 20 units of blood are needed per day to meet the demand of Thalassemia ,pregnant woman ,anaemia ,cancer patients of the district , but there is a shortage of it.
As the donors did not turn up for donation of blood due to lockdown, the blood bank failed to meet per day blood requirement, informed, in-chargeofficer of blood bank Dr Manas Kumar Jena.
The district has about 160 Thalassemia patients ,who depend on the blood bank of DHH for frequent transfusion. Even the local clinics, cancer patients, anaemia pregnant patients along with accident patients too require blood during emergency. But due to shortage of blood, it has become a difficult task to arrange blood for them ,informed Dr Jena.
“We have been giving blood in exchange now. If a patient requires blood, then the patient’s family members or a donor has to donate blood, later it is exchanged,” informed Jena. “Meanwhile, we have planned to organise blood donation camp this week," he added.