Tag: Blood

Critical Shortage of Blood in Bihar

Source: .patnadaily.com

On June 14th, World Blood Donor Day is celebrated worldwide! Thousands of donors will give their valuable blood, but unfortunately, it’s not nearly enough! The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies Bihar as a state that collects a very low amount of blood annually with only 20% of the estimated requirements being donated!

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can change this! It’s as simple as coming forward to donate blood and creating a new future for Bihar. Not only can we save so many lives, but it’s also the duty of every healthy citizen! Blood cannot be artificially manufactured by any means, so, it’s necessary to get blood directly from a donor. We will need a great number of volunteers, but Bihar can do it.

Who can donate blood?

Donors may be allowed to donate blood or blood components, like homologous, plasma, platelet, red blood cells, and granulocytes. Any donor (male or female) between 18 to 60, with a weight of more than 45 kg, is allowed to donate a minimum of one unit (350 ml to 450 ml) of blood once every three months. Almost anyone can donate blood at any time with the assistance of blood banks! A blood bank collects and stores blood and its components for future use. They properly examine the blood before transfusion to avoid spreading infectious disease. Blood banks are completely run by volunteers and donations so even if you are ineligible to donate blood, you can still help out in a variety of ways!

Why should I donate?

Blood donations are necessary for an emergency, but it also has plenty of hidden benefits as well! Before donating blood, donors usually will undergo a pre-donation screening which includes testing for Hepatitis, HIV, Syphilis, and HTLV. This can help the donor find any health concerns and is usually provided by the blood banks. In addition, donating blood can reduce the excess level of iron in the body. Of course, the donor can feel proud and good about themselves for this selfless act!

If a patient needs blood for their own future surgery, they are eligible to donate blood for themselves in a procedure known as autologous blood donation. Blood banks will store their blood until the surgery. This can help cut down on the overall need for blood!

Where should I donate?

India has more than 2000 licensed blood banks. Many people really want to donate blood to save lives. But, with that many choices, people become confused to make the right decision and moreover, they were not aware of it. In the capital of Bihar, Patna, Jeevan Rekha Blood Bank, National Blood Bank & Research Centre, and Bharat Blood Bank are the three best 24-hours blood banks identified by independent ranking website Three Best Rated® using their 50-point inspection.

From today, every individual in Bihar should make a resolution to donate blood to save lives! It’s not only our responsibility, but it’s also our duty!

Blood banks across Jharkhand struggle with severe shortage

Source: hindustantimes.com

An unprecedented crisis in blood banks of medical colleges and hospitals across Jharkhand has put patients in a spot and the lives of many are on line as doctors are not able to carry on with treatment due to lack of blood. In the last 72 hours, two patients have died at the Patliputra Medical College Hospital (PMCH) in Dhanbad and surgeries of over a dozen critical cases in different wards are on hold due to the blood crisis.

The crisis in blood banks has been attributed to several factors by authorities of hospitals such as PMCH, RIMS and MGMMCH. Many have cited the long duration of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, which meddled with the regular stocking up of blood at the blood banks.

PMCH authorities on Thursday held an emergency meeting and sent an SOS alert to donor clubs across the district for bailing out the institution immediately, as several critical patients continued to suffer.

On Thursday, relatives of three bullet-injury patients, Manoj, Nageswar and Sanjay, had to look for blood donors from their homes district of Giridih, so that the trio could be operated upon at PMCH. All three were admitted to PMCH in a critical condition on Wednesday night. Since the PMCH blood bank was nearly empty, doctors had to call for donors from Giridih.

Earlier on Tuesday, two gynaecology department patients Jyoti Kumari (20) and Shahjadi Khatoon ( 35) died allegedly due to lack of blood. However Dr AK Singh, an official at the PMCH blood bank said that both were severely complicated cases by the time they arrived from nursing homes. Under Janani Shishu Siraksha Yojana, both patients were entitled to get free blood from hospital. “The hospital had provided blood to them in time,” Dr AK Singh said.

PMCH Dhanbad requires 50 units of blood per day to cater to the requirement of patients. But on Thursday, the hospital’s blood bank was left with merely seven units of blood. “Of course there is an unprecedented crisis of blood as incoming flow is almost choked. However, we do not let the patients of hospital to suffer by linking them with donors”, said Dr AK Singh of PMCH.

Patients at hospitals Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) in Ranchi and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMMCH) in Jamshedpur are suffering from a similar crisis. Dr KK Singh, blood bank in-charge of RIMS Ranchi on Thursday said the crisis had aggravated badly but now the situation has improved. RIMS requires an average of 82 units of blood per day. On Thursday, the blood bank at RIMS had a stock of 200 units.

MGMMCH had 150 units of blood stocked on Thursday. The hospital requires 20 to 25 units of blood per day to cater to the requirement of patients. “We were facing a major crisis of blood for the past few days but now the stock has improved “, said Dr VVK Chaudhary, blood bank in-charge of MGMMCH Jamshedpur.