Free of cost blood in Punjab hospitals from Jan 1

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 31

Blood will be provided free of cost in government hospitals across Punjab from on Tuesday.

Disclosing this here on Monday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Brahm Mohindra said as part of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s mission ‘tandarust Punjab’, all the government hospitals across the state will provide blood and blood components free of cost to the patients.

Not only shall be blood provided free of cost, it will also be ensured that the blood is available round the clock in all the hospitals, the minister added.

Mohindra said this move would benefit thousands of patients across the state who earlier had to pay processing charges at Rs 300 per unit of blood in Civil Hospitals and Rs 500 per unit in Government Medical Colleges.

“From now blood and blood components like Packed RBC, Fresh Frozen Plasma, Cryoprecipitate, Platelets rich plasma, Platelet concentrate will be given free of cost to all the patients,” he said, adding, “the Tandarust Punjab Mission has taken this vital decision for the poor and downtrodden section of the society.”

The blood, he pointed out, is the first important requirement in case of the road accidents or the patients which are under going surgeries.

He said there are 116 blood banks in Punjab out of which 46 are being operated by the government, six by Military besides 64 are being run by private entities. Reaffirming the state government’s commitment to ensure best medical facilities for its citizens, Brahm Mohindra said in the last year 2.26 lakh units of blood were collected by government blood banks. He said now with this move of providing blood and blood components free of cost, the entire burden in terms of finances would be borne by the state government.

Mohindra said the health department with a view to further streamline the health services had launched a web portal ‘ E-Raktkosh’. This web facility would be a guiding source for all the needy persons to check the availability of particular blood group and blood components and its quantity in a particular blood bank.