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Sameer Singh
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, August 12
The blood bank at the Civil Hospital has been grappling with shortage of blood these days. As a result, staff members at the back have been asking patients to visit private hospitals for blood transfusion which in turn charging them exorbitantly.
Sources said there were only 30 units left in the blood bank at the Civil Hospital and owing to the hot weather, there was a steep decline in the number of donors recently.
Besides, there has been a decline in the number of blood donation camps as well.
An employee of the Civil Hospital, who did not wish to be named, added, “We have a capacity of stocking more than 550 units of blood but a steep decline in the number of donors has worsened the condition at the blood bank. Now, two blood donation camps to be organised in the coming two weeks and we are expecting to make some recovery after that. Due to the hot and humid weather, not many people are willing to donate blood. Moreover, the need for blood at the Civil Hospital has also increased from what it used to be two years ago.”
Sukhmandar Singh (name changed), a patient, said, “We had to spend Rs 2,400 to buy two units of blood from a blood bank at a private hospital in the city. My father is a labourer and we do not have any agricultural land in our village. What is the use of such large buildings of government hospitals if they cannot provide two units blood to people like us? Nothing could be more painful as my family did not have to spend more money on my treatment than buying two units of blood.”
Baldev Singh Romana, stock incharge at the blood bank, said, “Certainly, there is a shortage of blood units at the blood bank at present. We have been putting in our best efforts to rope in some NGOs in the city that can organise blood donation camps and provide blood units to us. At present, we have approximately 30 units, which as per the requirement at the Civil Hospital are quite less. We need to have minimum 150 blood units to keep things streamlined at the hospital.”
Romana added, “We had collected 829 units of blood in July this year and provided 844 units to the needy. We had organised nine blood donation camps, but the units of blood collected from them was quite less. Moreover, against the average demand for 40 units on a daily basis, there has been an increase in the demand for blood units at the Civil Hospital now.”
Dr Satish Goyal, Senior Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, said, “There is a shortage of blood units at the blood bank at present. It can partly be blamed to the mushrooming of private blood banks in the city, which have been organising blood donation camps on a frequent basis. As a result, blood collection from camps has decreased.”