Permission to NGO for blood collection in Punjab draws flak

Arun Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ropar, August 12 

Even as blood banks in the state are facing acute shortage of blood for patients admitted in local government hospitals, the Punjab State Blood Transfusion Council (PSBTC) has allowed Rotary Blood Bank Society Resource Centre, a Chandigarh-based NGO, to collect blood at voluntary blood donation camps organised in different parts of state. 

This, however, has landed officials of government blood banks in a tight spot, who have been finding it hard to meet the requirement of local hospitals.

At one such voluntary blood donation camp, organised by a local religious body at Ropar on Sunday, employees of the Ropar blood bank were seen helpless when they reached the venue to collect blood. 

The Shiv Shakti Prabhat Pheri Sewa Samiti had invited Rotary Blood Bank Society Resource Centre of Chandigarh to hold a blood donation camp at a private school here on Sunday. 

The PSBTC in its letter dated May 8, 2018, while granting permission to Rotary Blood Bank Society of Chandigarh to hold voluntary blood donation camps in the state, had instructed the NGO to provide 20 per cent of the total blood units collected at any camp to government blood bank of the area concerned.

The samiti president, Harminder Pal Singh Walia, said he invited the Rotary Blood Bank Society. So, he did not allow the staff of the Ropar blood bank to collect blood at the camp. 

Meanwhile, Dr Gurvinder from the Government Blood Bank said under such circumstances when blood was being collected by outsiders, it was difficult for them to provide blood for patients in Ropar. There was already shortage of blood in their bank, she added. 

“We have only 65 units of blood in stock, which will last for few days only,” she said.

The Ropar Civil Surgeon, Dr Harinder Kaur, refused to intervene in the matter stating that she did not know whether she was authorised to take any action in the matter or not. 

Interestingly, the Additional Project Director-cum-member of the PSBTC, Manpreet Chhatwal, who granted permission to the Rotary Blood Bank Society to hold voluntary blood donation camps said, “The permission has been given under political pressure. Blood banks in Mohali, Kharar and Ropar are facing difficulties in meeting target of blood collection. Under such circumstances, I had rejected application of the Rotary Blood Bank Society for holding camps in Punjab.” 

 “They are well-connected people and under their influence permission has been ultimately granted to them to collect blood at camps organised in different parts of Punjab,” she added.