Only 50 units left at MMG hosp blood bank as Covid fears keep donors away

Ghaziabad: The shortage of blood that started in the district during the pandemic has not been overcome. Officials said that there has been a decrease in the usual blood donation camps in the district, and even in those being conducted only a handful of people are turning up.
The blood bank at the MMG hospital, which is the largest in the district, has just 50 units left with it against the capacity to stock over 500 units. Over a month ago, the incharge of the blood bank had appealed to the public to donate blood, but the situation has not improved much. Around 50 units of blood were left at the city’s lone government centre on Monday.
To deal with the situation, two camps were organised on Monday, one at the blood bank itself and another at Modinagar. Every year, the government departments are asked to organise blood donation camps by the administration, but those are not happening these days, said an official.
Officials said that government organisations used to be one of their major sources of blood supply as they periodically conduct blood donation camps. However, the Covid outbreak had tremendously affected the outcome of such camps. They added that about 50-55 blood donation camps were held every year by government organisations and around 3,000 units of blood were collected through them.
Even though camps were organised after the outbreak of Covid last year in March, the number of units collected were dismal. During 2019-20, as many as 47 camps were organised in the district and only 1,403 units of blood could be collected through them. This number further slumped in 2020-21, wherein only 400 units of blood were collected in 20 camps. Last month, officials handling the blood bank’s functioning had sounded an alert urging the public to come forward and donate blood at the unit any day between 10am and 4pm. A request was also made to social organisations to hold camps at the earliest.
The Blood bank, which is the largest in the district, has just 50 units left with it against the capacity to stock over 500 units. Officials fear that if people do not come forward and donate blood, it could put an abrupt break on the treatment of several patients suffering from thalassemia, anaemia, cancer, dialysis and accident victims among others.
In such a situation, those who come to take blood are instructed to bring a donor along with them. “Our first aim is to save a life, so we do not insist on donors in such cases. However, with others, we ask them to provide donors. There is an acute shortage of negative blood groups,” said blood bank’s senior technical officer AK Tomar.
Tomar said that people are afraid to donate blood due to fear of getting Covid. Camps are being held by NGOs and other organisations but the collection is not adequate.