In the initial days of the lockdown, some blood donors were allegedly stopped on their way to donation and their vehicles were seized.
Blood continues to be in short supply in Bengaluru continues, especially at a time the lockdown has been extended for a second time. While the number of accidents has significantly dropped, blood is required for patients with thalassemia, bleeding disorders and other medical issues. VInay Kumar, an activist who is volunteering with the Karnataka government for the crisis and coordinates blood donation (in his private capacity) said that he pointed the issue out to many officers overseeing the crisis a month ago, and said that he was surprised about how long it took them to act on it. “Even when they announced the helpline, there was not enough information or details. There are many people across the state who have been coordinating this for years and the government could have easily taken them on board,” he added. On April 23, the government issued its first notification in this regard where it was said the health department along with NGOs will work on an action plan to revive the supply chain. As part of this initiative, a helpline 9154153920 was to be launched. But this was only made functional by April 29. “The crisis is there. We are able to manage as the number of accident cases is low and there are no elective surgeries taking place. The problem is acute for hospitals which are located in slightly remote corners. There are enough people who are willing to donate blood but there is a fear among people. The government has not done enough to educate and inform people,” he said. During a recent emergency, blood had to be arranged from a Civil Defence volunteer with the help of the government’s Public Relations and Information department, he added. During the initial days of the lockdown, some blood donors were stopped on the way and even their vehicles were seized, he pointed out. Dr Sitalakshmi, Head of Blood Transfusion at St John’s Medical College Hospital, “There is a significant shortage. I would say at least there is a drop of 40-60% of donors walking in to donate blood compared to the pre-COVID-19 days. So, we have been forced to develop our own strategy to ensure that there is a reasonable reserve. Luckily for us, we have a good medico-social community and we have a well-maintained donor registry so every day we are contacting around 80 persons and we expect around 8-10 people to show up.” “Once we are sure that the person is coming we issue a donor pass to them which allows them to commute freely. Sometimes we have sent our vehicle to ferry donors to and fro. In this crisis, we had to take help from our students and staff,” she added. Similarly, Dr Narsima Swamy, medical in-charge of the blood bank run by the Bangalore Medical Services Trust, said the situation has not improved much since the lockdown started. “We are still forced to ask people who come for regular treatment (like patients suffering from thalassemia) to arrange a donor among their family or friends, otherwise we won’t be able to match the demand if there is a major crisis,” he said. The Lions Club which also runs a blood bank in association with the Jain Hospital said they also had a similar crisis since the middle of the month. Deepak, a co-ordinator with the bank said they are arranging vehicles for donors and conducting small drives in non-hotspot areas to collect blood. He said, “While usually in a week on an average we would have 180 units, we now have 100 units at a time.” You can donate blood in Bengaluru through this link or by calling the helpline number. READ: COVID-19 lockdown: Doctors worried over drop in blood supply
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