Amritsar: Doctors express concern over shortage of blood

AMRITSAR: Doctors and blood banks in Amritsar have raised concern over the shortage of blood in absence of blood donation camps in the city due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Sarabdeepak Singh Riar, blood bank in-charge at Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital, said they had a deficit of six to eight units of blood every day. He said earlier they used to give around 25 units of blood in a day but now they were able to give only around 12 to 14 units.
“To cope up with the demand and to overcome the deficit, we are requesting people in the 18-45 age group to donate blood before getting vaccinated. After vaccination it's not advisable to donate blood for next 60 days”.
Dr Avtar Singh, managing director, Amandeep Medicity said that the only solace was that the demand for blood had also decreased due to deferral of elective surgeries and lesser trauma cases.
“Despite this, there is a scarcity of blood and we are barely managing it,” he said.
Doctors of private hospitals also gave a representation to the deputy commissioner about the oxygen supply and also sought to put a cap on the price of oxygen cylinders.