Zero unit blood: says Darjeeling blood bank officials

EOI, DARJEELING 29 Mar 2015: Every half an hour, a person in Darjeeling is in need of blood. But blood bank officials say that currently there is an acute shortage of blood across the town. The supplies have reached zero unit, which means there is no supply of blood in the bank.

Red Cross officials say that there is a lot of lethargy on the part medical organizations, and locals of the area. Also concerned about the lack of awareness, he said, “People think that the blood they donate cannot be replenished. This insecurity is usually among the first time donors who are almost 30-40 percent of the people who turn up in every camp that we hold.”

He observed that more camps must be mobilised almost on a daily basis to handle the shortage that is primarily due to the sudden rise of epidemics such as Dengue and Swine Flu. To address the demand for specific components of blood, which comprises almost 60 per cent of the total demand, the Red Cross team feels that a more effective way of collecting blood is by separating it into platelets, plasma and red blood cells during the time of collection. If this is done, one bottle of whole blood would benefit two recipients, said the spokesperson.

Another definite reason for the shortage, according to Darjeeling District Hospital officials, was the college vacation period. “The largest part of the donations is from college students. Due to the vacation period, we are unable to collect voluntary blood,” said the hospital source. “It is mandatory for all the denizens of Darjeeling to come together and donate blood voluntarily in order to avert such panic situation. And it is the duty of local NGOs and other governmental organizations to sensitize people of the importance of blood donation,” he added. A similar sitution was reported on January 2014.

“It is sad that after water, Darjeeling has now run out of blood. Such situation arises when the administration, and we the residents of the area, don’t give importance to blood donation camps. We must take it as our duty to donate blood periodically,” said a concerned senior citizen.