The State Blood Transfusion Council’s mandate to hospitals to not force relatives to get replacement blood donors has highlighted the need for more voluntary blood donors in the country. The need to get replacement donors is often due to the ignorance of hospitals in organising enough blood donation camps, lack of proper management of donated blood that leads to wastage and an overall low percentage of voluntary blood donors.
Vinay Shetty from Think Foundation in Mumbai, which organises blood donation camps, feels hospitals should devise a system of inviting people on a regular basis to donate blood. “They should start blood donor clubs in hospitals to ensure a continuous cycle. These donors could be motivated by some felicitation or celebrity programme organised for them.” Blood donation camps, however, should be hospitals’ main focus. “They should reach out to people in temples, churches, housing societies, etc and reach the donors instead of making them come to the hospital,” he said.
In case of replacement blood donation, when a patient is hospitalised and requires blood transfusion, hospitals often demand that relatives and friends donate blood to restore the units utilised for their patient. On Wednesday, The Hindu reported that the State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) has issued a circular to all blood banks across Maharashtra demanding that they should stop replacement blood donation and instead achieve 100% voluntary blood collection for patients.
The SBTC also pulled up four hospitals for largely depending on replacement donors and has given them three months to covert this pattern or face action.
Messages on social media and phone requesting for ‘urgent blood donors’ mainly come from relatives or friends of a patient who is hospitalised and the authorities demand that the blood utilised for the patient should be replaced. The National Blood Policy, formulated in the 2002, stated that no hospital should depend on replacement donors. It had stated that replacement blood donation should gradually be phased out but that is yet to happen.
Dr. Sunil Rajadhyaksha, Head of Transfusion Medicine at Tata Memorial Hospital, said there should definitely be no coercion or conditional blood donation. “But there are situations when there is not enough blood. Those kind of situations should be avoided by ensuring a collective effort towards voluntary blood donation,” said Dr. Rajadhyaksha. He says Tata Memorial organises a blood camp almost every day, given that the requirement of blood in the hospital is so high. However, one patient often requires 40 to 50 bags of blood at a time. “What does one do when such a need arises suddenly? There has to be an unhindered cycle of donation and it has to be managed properly as well,” said Dr. Rajadhyaksha.
According to the Federation of Bombay Blood Banks, an NGO formed by 48 blood banks in Mumbai, 70% of Mumbai’s population has never donated blood. Amongst the most common fear is being infected with HIV. Some also fear weakness and needle pricks, which keep them away from donating.