Despite rise in dengue cases, apheresis machine lying defunct at Ludhiana Civil Hospital

Tribune News Service

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, October 9

Dengue cases are being reported every day from different parts of the district and today 10 persons tested positive for the disease. Twentyseven persons are admitted to various hospitals. Despite the same, the only apheresis machine at the Civil Hospital is lying defunct.

For the past six years, the machine is giving a difficult time to doctors as it frequently develops fault and now, the hospital authorities have asked the Health Department to get them a new machine. Last year also, it was repaired. But now again, it has developed a snag.

Patients are not able to take benefit of the machine and are forced to pay double the charges at private hospitals.

The machine, which was bought more than 15 years ago, separates blood received from donors into its various components such as plasma, platelets, white blood cells and red blood cells.

Blood Transfusion Officer Jasmeet Singh said the apheresis machine at the Civil Hospital was not in a working condition and now, they have asked the department to procure a new machine for the hospital.

If the blood bank had enough units of blood, random donor platelets could be prepared and given to patients. Random donor platelets need blood from four to five different donors and can be prepared from donated blood in four to six hours of collection.

Meanwhile, single donor platelets is obtained from single donor by the apheresis machine. Blood is drawn from the donor into the machine which separates the blood into its components and retains some of the platelets and returns the remaining blood to the donor.

Dengue cases are increasing and the machine is important in the hospital as patients who are not financially well off come to the hospital and in its absence they have to go to private hospitals for the facility.

RDP (Random Donor Platelet) and SDP (Single Donor Platelet) are required in patients with platelet count of less than 15,000/ul (if there is no bleeding). The main purpose of platelet transfusion is to prevent spontaneous internal bleeding, added a medicine specialist.

A patient at the Civil Hospital said blood platelets were required for patients but since it was not possible to carry out the process here so they were asked to go to private hospitals.

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