Blood Donor Day: With Blood Shortage Since Pandemic, Experts Urge For More Voluntary Blood Donation

Pune, 14th June 2021: Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, blood banks, and blood transfusion services are facing unforeseen challenges. For more than one year now, the blood donation rate has declined.

Today, on World Blood Donor Day, experts from the city mentioned that people should voluntarily come forward for blood donation. Every year, World Blood Donor Day is observed on June 14 to raise awareness about the need to donate blood regularly to increase the availability of safe blood and its products for patients in need.

Hospitals from the city have arranged blood donation camps and are also doing awareness campaigns for blood donation in the hospitals.

S K Raut, one of the Directors at the Noble Hospital, said, “We are arranging blood donation camps in different corporate companies, in different housing societies, etc. We are also doing an awareness campaign in the hospital. Since the onset of the Covid-19, blood donation has declined. People are scared of coming to the hospital. It is still difficult to arrange large-scale blood donation camps, and hence people should voluntarily come forward for donating blood.”

As per the World Health Organisation, a country should have blood units equal to a percentage of its population and India did not meet this parameter even before the pandemic. Experts mentioned that many patients with thalassemias who require blood transfusion every fifteen days have been most badly hit by the shortage of blood during Covid-19.

Dr. Parag Sancheti, Chairman and Orthopedic surgeon from Sancheti Hospital, said, “Many times, patients suffering from life-threatening conditions can be saved by blood donation. Trauma patients, patients suffering from conditions like Thalassemia, need blood on an urgent basis. Hence the availability of blood is crucial. Because of the pandemic blood availability has declined. We are doing awareness in our hospital about blood donation. I urge that people should voluntarily come forward and donate for the greater cause of saving a life.”

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