After initial setback and ‘nil’ donations, donors, although in small numbers, are turning up at blood banks
After facing shortage of blood soon after the lockdown with some of the blood banks registering almost ‘nil’ donations, the situation appears to be better now with voluntary blood donation gaining some traction. However, the blood scarcity has not fully eased with restrictions continue to be in place.

Despite limited donors and blood units, the situation was being managed with family members, friends and relatives of in-patients bringing donors by getting passes from the police to donate blood.

So far, blood transfusion to patients of thalassemia, haemophilia, sickle cell anaemia and other blood disorders, who require blood, has not been affected.

In the blood bank of JSS Hospital here, over 100 children with thalassemia had been getting free transfusion. Some require transfusion once or twice a week and the hospital has managed to arrange blood units for them in spite of the lockdown which has hit voluntary blood donations in the absence of camps. JSS Blood Bank has around 260 units of blood.

In Madikeri, the local thalassemia patients, who were being treated in Mangaluru, were now being treated in the district hospital with the blood bank sourcing blood units to them.

Ravi Karumbaiah of the blood bank said, “The lockdown has curbed their movement to places where they were being treated earlier. Blood transfusion to these patients is now being done locally as priority cases since they are unable to commute. The donors are coming forward and the situation is better compared to the previous week.”

In the case of K R Hospital Blood Bank here, the available blood units could last for about a month despite 75 per cent drop in blood donations.

Blood Bank Officer B.S. Manjunath said, “People have realised the situation and are donating blood, though small in numbers, after removing their misapprehensions. We have in storage about 309 units of blood and 800 units of plasma. Donations are certainly down by 75 per cent with numbers dropping to as low as 12-13 from 40-50 daily. There have been no camps since March 10 after the COVID-19 scare began.”

However, for thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia, cancer and other patients who need regular transfusion, there was stock and required units were provided for transfusion at the hospital. “Those patients have no problems at all,” he said, adding that the number of blood units would depend on the severity of cases.

Representatives at Jeevanadhara Blood Bank and the Blood Bank of St. Joseph’s Hospital here said lockdown curbs had hit voluntary donations, resulting in blood shortage.

“We have a database of frequent donors and call them if we need blood for patients with negative blood groups which was not common to source, particularly during delivery cases. In such rare cases, we ourselves send ambulances to pick up the donors because of lockdown,” said a source at the Jeevanadhara Blood Bank.

In spite of drop in road accidents and surgeries, the demand for blood has not dropped because of delivery cases, life-saving surgeries and transfusion to aged persons, he added.

A staffer at the JSS Blood Bank said, “In view of the current situation, blood units were also being provided to outsiders in case of emergencies.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – April 10th, 2020