Nurpur Blood Donors Club seeks platelet machine at Tanda Medical College, Kangra

Our Correspondent

Nurpur, May 15

The Nurpur Blood Donors Club (NBDC) has demanded the installation of a platelet apheresis machine at Tanda Medical College (TMC), Kangra.

Club president Rajiv Pathania said patients suffering from the low platelet count disease thrombocytopenia were facing a lot of difficulties, as no medical college or private hospital in the state have the medical equipment.

He said patients, especially from Kangra district, requiring blood platelets in emergency had to rush to the PGI, Chandigarh, or a private hospital at Pathankot.

Pathania said the NBDC had two years ago taken up the issue with former Health Minister Vipin Parmar, who had directed the authorities at TMC, Kangra, but no initiative was taken.

He lamented that he had also raised the issue with political leaders, but in vain. He said conventional platelet separating machines were being used in the medical colleges in the state which had become obsolete and wasting blood units being donated by the volunteers.

The NBDC president claimed that the apheresis machine, which costed Rs 30 lakh to Rs 35 lakh could extract 30,000 to 40,000 platelets from a single blood unit, while the conventional platelet separating machines would extract only 4,000 to 5,000 platelets from the same volume of blood.

“Moreover, five or more volunteers are required for donating their blood units for one patient in the conventional platelet machine, whereas a single blood unit is required in the apheresis machine in which only required platelets are extracted and the same blood returned to the donor’s body,” he added.