Covid-19: Lockdown Creates Acute Shortage At Blood Banks

Blood banks in most states are facing acute shortages as blood donation has dried up during the lockdown. Despite reduced demand for blood due to elective surgeries being kept on hold and road accidents coming down, they are struggling to cope.
Though the general demand for blood and blood products might have reduced, blood banks still have to cater to those critically ill, blood disorder patients, cancer patients needing platelet infusion, women needing blood transfusion following child birth and trauma patients.

After many state governments clamped down on blood donation camps to avoid large gatherings of people, some have allowed smaller camps to be set up to deal with the acute shortage.

“Under the prevailing lockdown, no blood donation camps are being organized and people are scared to step out of their houses,” said a state blood transfusion council official in Pune. But the council has reached out to various organisations to organise blood donations in small batches, of say five at a time with social distancing being maintained, he said.

The situation is especially dire in central India and the Vidarbha region, home to several communities in which blood disorders like thalassemia and sickle cell disease are common. There are thousands who require regular blood transfusion, said Dr Vinky Rughwani, director of Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Centre in Nagpur adding that though they had managed so far, the situation might turn serious in a week.

In Mumbai, the shortage has eased after health minister Rajesh Tope and the state Food & Drugs Administration gave permission for special `mini’ camps that observe social distancing norms and provide sanitisers and masks. “We now have stocks for at least 20 days in Mumbai,” said Vinay Shetty of NGO Think Foundation that works for children with thalassemia.

Think Foundation and U2 Can Run worked out a module whereby potential donors could register online and get an e-letter providing them with a specific time they could visit the nearest blood bank and donate blood to avoid crowding at any of the banks. That’s led to collection of at least 300 units every day, said Shetty.

In Kerala, after thousands of blood donation camps were cancelled, the Kerala State AIDS control Society has issued a fresh circular allowing blood donation at blood banks. All Kerala Blood Donors Society president Lida Jacob said voluntary blood donors can travel for donation after producing their IDs, patient’s information and blood requirement details. But finding platelet donors for cancer patients is still proving tough.

In most cities, including Delhi and Hyderabad, blood banks are rationing the supply even to thalassemia patients and insisting that patients bring volunteers with the required blood group as they are unable to allow replacement donation. Often, donors struggle to reach the blood banks with no public transport and police restricting travel. Over half the thalassemia patients are being turned away in Hyderabad.

Blood banks in Madhya Pradesh are struggling as with those in Bhopal and Indore down to a few units for each blood group. MP Red Cross Society chairman said they were providing pick-and-drop facilities for donors who call on a toll-free number, but had got just 15 donors in the last 10 days.

In Bengal, the chief minister has urged all police personnel to volunteer and blood donation camps are being organised at police stations. “We gave out numbers for people to call and book slots so that there no over-crowding,” said Dhanish Sheth of Project Life Force, an NGO that organizes blood donation camps.

PGI Chandigarh’s blood bank department planned ahead by mapping how to manage blood donations with a staggered number of volunteers. “We send our hospital buses for 10-15 people to the houses of known donors and we had taken prior approval from local authorities for this,” said Dr Rati Ram, head of transfusion medicine in PGIMER.-Times Of India