According to doctors, the infection had spread across the leg and had to be operated on at the earliest.

Faced with a critically ill patient who required a blood transfusion before he could be operated on, a junior resident doctor at AIIMS stepped in to donate blood.

Dr Mohd Fawaz (24), working with the department of surgery, said the patient, in his mid 30s, came to the emergency on Tuesday and was suffering from septic shock due to infection in the lower left leg.

According to doctors, the infection had spread across the leg and had to be operated on at the earliest.

“The patient came with his wife, who was not physically fit to donate blood. I wanted to take him to the operation theatre and remove the infected parts so that he can be stabilised. We couldn’t wait for his attendants to reach the hospital, so I decided to donate blood and get a few more units from the blood bank,” Dr Fawaz told The Indian Express.

The patient’s hemoglobin was low and doctors had to intubate him.

According to doctors, there was not much blood available in the bank as well. “He was given external support to manage the blood pressure and put on ventilator. He required three-four blood transfusions,” said Dr Fawaz.

Hours later, the patient’s hemoglobin levels finally stabilised and a team of doctors, including Dr Fawaz, are preparing to perform the operation. “At the time of a pandemic, it is getting difficult for people to reach out to each other… For a doctor, the main aim is to save the lives of patients. Every patient visiting the hospital should be treated with the best of efforts,” he said.