CHENNAI: With several corporate campuses struggling to regain their foothold, and students busy with rain-relief measures, blood banks are running dry as fewer volunteers are coming forwards to donate blood.
It has been more than a month since blood banks run by NGOs held a donation drive owing to the rain. They have now sent out an appeal in social networking sites asking the public to walk into their units and donate.
"On an average, we hold at least 15 camps a month. As of now, we have just enough blood for the weekend, and we need at least 40 volunteers a day to tide over the shortage," said Jeevan Blood Bank director P Srinivasan.
The group held two camps during the brief lull in rain. He said banks started feeling the pinch when educational institutions closed due to the downpour. "Corporate houses, which are usually our biggest contributors after students, were dealing with the flood. And individual volunteers had their hands full with rain-related relief," said Srinivasan.
READ ALSO: Chennai floods: Rs 200 crore insurance claims so far for damaged aircraft, goods
Doctors say with the rains abating, the demand for blood will increase as infections like dengue, which require platelet transfusion, will peak. Blood is usually split into three components - red blood corpuscles which have a shelf life of 35-42 days, platelets, which can be stored for up to five days and used for dengue and cancer treatment, and plasma that can be frozen for up to a year and used for burn patients and those who have undergone a liver transplant. Around 450ml of blood is drawn for one unit.
Blood banks say the entire process takes more than six hours. "It takes time to test, process and refrigerate blood. In the current situation, we have a problem when blood is urgently required - we just don't have enough stock," said Viswanathan Nair, CEO of Lions Blood Bank. He said the demand for blood has gone up as many private hospitals that run their own blood banks faced storage issues owing to power fluctuations.
READ ALSO: Chennai floods expose cases of leprosy, tuberculosis
Government blood banks have registered a dip in blood reserves, but have a better stock than the private banks. Dr N Rajkumar, head of transfusion medicine at Stanley Medical College and Hospital, said the hospital had advised its clinicians to be judicious with transfusions. "We did minimum whole-blood transfusions and managed the rest with components. Our stock has depleted, but it is not too bad," he said.
Chennai's government blood banks, too, have a registry of volunteers whom they call to donate when the stocks go down.
It has been more than a month since blood banks run by NGOs held a donation drive owing to the rain. They have now sent out an appeal in social networking sites asking the public to walk into their units and donate.
"On an average, we hold at least 15 camps a month. As of now, we have just enough blood for the weekend, and we need at least 40 volunteers a day to tide over the shortage," said Jeevan Blood Bank director P Srinivasan.
The group held two camps during the brief lull in rain. He said banks started feeling the pinch when educational institutions closed due to the downpour. "Corporate houses, which are usually our biggest contributors after students, were dealing with the flood. And individual volunteers had their hands full with rain-related relief," said Srinivasan.
READ ALSO: Chennai floods: Rs 200 crore insurance claims so far for damaged aircraft, goods
Doctors say with the rains abating, the demand for blood will increase as infections like dengue, which require platelet transfusion, will peak. Blood is usually split into three components - red blood corpuscles which have a shelf life of 35-42 days, platelets, which can be stored for up to five days and used for dengue and cancer treatment, and plasma that can be frozen for up to a year and used for burn patients and those who have undergone a liver transplant. Around 450ml of blood is drawn for one unit.
Blood banks say the entire process takes more than six hours. "It takes time to test, process and refrigerate blood. In the current situation, we have a problem when blood is urgently required - we just don't have enough stock," said Viswanathan Nair, CEO of Lions Blood Bank. He said the demand for blood has gone up as many private hospitals that run their own blood banks faced storage issues owing to power fluctuations.
READ ALSO: Chennai floods expose cases of leprosy, tuberculosis
Government blood banks have registered a dip in blood reserves, but have a better stock than the private banks. Dr N Rajkumar, head of transfusion medicine at Stanley Medical College and Hospital, said the hospital had advised its clinicians to be judicious with transfusions. "We did minimum whole-blood transfusions and managed the rest with components. Our stock has depleted, but it is not too bad," he said.
Chennai's government blood banks, too, have a registry of volunteers whom they call to donate when the stocks go down.
Shared by Col Ranbir Lamba
[Tri Services Veterans]
[TOI]
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