With 1.6L units till May, Pune dist ahead in blood donation so far this year
Between Jan and May, 2,127 blood donation campaigns were organized in Pune district, data from State Blood Transfusion Council said.
Mumbai held 1,651 campaigns and collected 1.27 lakh units.
Solapur district came third with 88,000 blood units from 1,276 campaigns.
Overall, the state collected 9.81 lakh units through 17,139 campaigns, but the collection is nowhere close to the demand, health department officials said.
Dr Purushottam Puri, additional director of the council, health services in Maharashtra, said in 2024, the state collected 21.68 lakh units.
This year, in the first five months, 9.48 lakh units of blood was collected, so far.
Puri added, "Very few blood donation camps have been held because of college vacations. The demand for blood is always higher than the supply, especially in tier two cities where there is less awareness about blood donation. With increased road accidents and medical emergencies, the demand for blood is going up. More people must donate blood.
No healthcare institute can survive without adequate supply."
Dr Liza Bulsara, consultant for hemato oncology and bone marrow transplant physician at Jupiter Hospital in Pune, said blood donation should be a lifelong process.
"Certain patient groups require blood far more frequently than others. Children with thalassemia may need transfusions every 15-20 days. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, or those in ICUs, often depend on a steady blood supply.
Each donated unit can be separated into red cells, plasma and platelets. One unit can help up to three patients at once," she added.
Health minister Prakash Abitkar, in a statement on Friday, said new rules were needed to issue no objection certificate to institutions setting up blood banks in the state.
"No shortage, no waste policy should be implemented so that every needy patient in the state gets blood on time. The feasibility of starting NAT (Nucleic Acid Testing) in govt blood banks in the state should be studied and a report should be submitted," the statement added.
Steady Rise In Collection
In 2020 I 15.46 lakh units
In 2021 I 16.73 lakh units
2022 I 19.28 lakh units
2023 I 20.44 lakh units
2024 I 21.68 lakh units
(Maharashtra figures I Source: State Blood Transfusion Council)
Today Is Blood Donor Day
WHO says most people can give blood if they are in good health, blood donation by 1% of the population is minimum need for a nation's basic requirements
Ideal age I Between 18 and 65 years with weight above 50kg
One unit corresponds with 450 ml of blood
The clinical demand was estimated to be 14.6 million units of blood by National Estimation of Blood requirement in India prepared by NACO
In 2017,annual collection reported by NACO was 11.1 million units
Do not donate blood if your haemoglobin level is less than 12g/dl for women and 13g/dl for men
Caption: On Friday, Pune Airport organized a blood donation camp in observance of the World Blood Donor Day
Photo credit: Pune Airport Authority
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