Civil Hospital fails to fulfil blood demands of city

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 4

Blood bank of the Civil Hospital, which caters to the entire city, is facing an acute shortage of blood. With an increase in temperature, demand for blood increases. Supply, on the other hand, has decreased.

Even the units reserved for VIPs and VVIPs has been utilised and now the blood bank at the hospital is left with only 25 units against the demand of 40 to 50 units per day. Generally, there are 200 to 300 units in stock on any given day at the Civil Hospital.

The primary behind the acute shortage of blood is climatic conditions. Due to extreme heat and humidity, NGOs generally refrain from holding blood donation camps as storage of blood becomes a little complicated. Moreover, not many people come forward to donate blood due to extreme weather conditions.

Finding a suitable venue for holding blood donation camps has come to be known as another reason. Blood donation camps are usually held at colleges, and since colleges are closed during the months on June and July, NGOs fail to organise as many blood camps as possible.

“Not many people come forward to donate blood. Blood cannot be manufactured in a unit. It has to be donated by a human. People want blood to be donated to their family members but nobody is ready to donate it for others, which is the saddest part,” said Dr Gurinderdeep Singh Grewal, blood transfusion officer, Civil Hospital.

“Blood bank at Civil Hospital and Mother and Child Hospital provides free units of blood to in-house patients. There is a consumption of nearly 40 to 50 units on a daily basis. Left with no other option, the kin of the patients have to arrange blood on their own,” said Dr Grewal.

Gurpreet Singh, founder of Bloodsewa.com, said there was an acute shortage of blood these days and the main reason was acute weather conditions and lack of suitable venues to hold blood donation camps as colleges have summer break these days.

Santosh Kumar, whose wife is admitted in Mother and Child Hospital, said: “Doctors had recommended blood transfusion to his wife but the blood bank at the Civil Hospital does not have her blood group. Left with no other option, I had to lend money from someone to buy blood as I am not financially sound to afford the cost of blood.”