Indian hospitals face shortage of blood

ANAEMIC BLOOD BANKS: Experts say Indian hospitals and blood banks desperately need more blood.

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Keywords: Blood Banks, Hospitals

New Delhi: Many volunteers come forward to donate blood during a crisis, however, under normal circumstances most hospitals in the country are facing a shortage of blood.

Indian hospitals are short of 2 million units of blood today and experts say we desperately need more blood.

"The total requirement in India is 8.5 million units of blood while the total collection is hardly 6 m/units. So there is a gap between demand and supply," says Director Blood Transfusion, Apollo, Dr R N Makroo.

It's not just private hospitals that are facing the crunch, big government hospitals are looking for outside help.

Y.K Gupta, Spokeperson, AIIMS: "We have tie-ups with organisations like Red Cross in case of emergencies," says Spokesperson AIIMS, Y K Gupta.

While shortage of blood is not a new phenomenon, but reasons like the ongoing summer or the festival season can make matters worse due to shortage of volunteers.

However, the lack of donors is not the only reason why blood banks are turning anemic. Experts say, with the arrival of advanced health care, doctors themselves are also to blame.

"Clinicians always ask for more blood than required which leads to wastage and and creates shortage. The need of the hour is rational use of blood," explains National Blood Consultant, Dr Debashish Gupta.

While increased community participation and regular donation are the main solutions, converting blood into more than one components can also be of crucial help.

"One unit of blood can be separated into three components namely red cells, plasma and platelets, which can help three patients at one time, adds Dr Makroo.

With dengue season on, reports of shortage of blood platelets in some hospitals created quite a scare. And if the situation does not improve, many more scares are likely in the future.