Blood Shortage in Malkangiri DHH

The District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in Malkangiri is facing an acute shortage of blood. The blood bank does not have sufficient stock of blood as there has been a decline in the number of voluntary donors in the recent past and government has stopped exchange of blood. Attendants of patients are running from pillar to post to procure blood and those who cannot afford to purchase blood suffer silently. Taking advantage of the situation, middlemen are fleecing people who are in urgent need of blood by charging ₹5000 per unit of blood. While there is a demand of 300 units of blood in the DHH every month, only 10 units are available daily on an average in the blood bank. There is shortage of blood belonging to both rare and common groups.

According to sources in the blood bank, there were only eight units of O+ and B+ in the blood bank. There is no stock of blood groups like O-, A+, A-, AB+ and AB – in the blood bank, said Santosh Kumar Senapati, in-charge of the blood bank. Contacted, Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Ajit Kumar Mohanty said collection of blood is low and the number of donors is less. “As government has stopped providing blood in exchange of blood, the collection has dropped,” he said, adding that the District Headquarters Hospital will organise blood donation camps to collect more blood units. As per reports, the State falls short of around one lakh units of blood for transfusion to patients every year. – New Indian Express