Some bravehearts risking lives to keep the need of blood in check

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 12

While a simple procedure, which has witnessed a beeline of donors in the past, however, during the pandemic with everyone resigned to their homes amid the scare, blood donation has become the responsibility of a chosen few still venturing out to lend a helping hand despite the risks.

This ‘no holding back’ acts by some bravehearts have kept the insatiable need for blood units and many medical emergencies satisfied amid the times of pandemic. And now as dengue has also moved in, the task of arranging blood had also become harder but it is being taken care of.

A string of emergencies amidst a reduced supply are dealing with the tempest calmly and diligently.

Factor this in, a Phagwara-based NGO has collected over 700 units in blood donation camps to keep the flow steady. In Jalandhar, a 49-year-old man along with his entire family has been donating and also mobilising blood for the needy.

Vitin Puri, general secretary, Hindustan Welfare Blood Donors’ Club said, “The decrease in caseload has had a grave impact on blood donation. Emergencies and the demand for blood are same but donors are just not willing. As the pandemic continues, the attitude of people remains the same.”

Previously, they used to get 700 to 800 units in a single camp, but during the pandemic they have got as much in five months. “Elderly donors don’t come out for reasons which we also support. Even the young are prevented from donating by family members. Moreover, dengue has made things worse. We have to make mammoth efforts to ensure donors. Our appeal is for people to cooperate and think about the lives that they can save,” Puri added.

While Hindustan Blood Donors Club began holding camps in April, during the lockdown, Puri had even arranged ferrying people from home in need of blood. A camp held from September 27 onwards saw collection of 126 blood unit. He said: “Had it been pre-Covid times, the same camp would have yielded at least 700 units.”

Does the virus add to the costs? “No it doesn’t. We keep masks and sanitisers and duly follow protocols but I think it’s a myth that this adds dramatically to the costs. A bottle of sanitiser is enough to sustain a camp even with generous use,” Puri explained.

Jatinder Soni (49), a Jalandhar-based donor, has donated blood 135 times in all – three times (twice blood, once plasma) during the pandemic. Amid the dengue season, he gets at least 12 to 18 calls a day seeking blood and plasma/cells. His family members are also active donors — Brother, wife and son all have donated in the past few months.

“I get 15 to 20 calls a day. I have called donors from home, arranged some at 2 am and 5 am because nights are trickiest. Nine of them have been challaned during the pandemic. Varinder Sharma, the previous DC, had given us an entire Red Cross ambulance to ferry donors to keep them from being challaned. Only last evening, blood was arranged for a pregnant woman,” he said.He has payed his dues in the past. “Since then, I decided I wouldn’t let anyone else suffer the same,” Soni added.