Mumbai: From last month, the city’s blood banks have been facing shortage of stocks due to the holiday season. While blood banks are showing signs of recovery, stocks are still not adequate to meet the monsoon needs, which typically see a rise in trauma cases and infectious diseases.As dengue cases rise, demand for platelets increases, noted an official of a blood bank at a civic hospital; a significant drop in platelet count is a common complication in dengue patients. “If the situation does not improve, we will see patients’ relatives struggling for it,” the official said.A doctor at Cooper Hospital said they are already seeing a few dengue and malaria cases daily. “Some of them are serious, but there has been no mortality so far. Whole blood and its components are insufficient across the city, and such patients could be impacted if demand rises and supply doesn’t. For now, it’s manageable.”
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Dr Mohan Joshi, Sion hospital dean, said that over the past few days the hospital received around 100 units, but the situation was dire before that. “The holiday season is always bad for blood collection in the city. Accident cases are the worst impacted, but we managed somehow,” he said, adding: “Every day, the hospital needs about 35 units for thalassemia patients. A mega donation camp held on Sunday collected around 3,000 units, of which 750 will be sent to Sion hospital.“Such camps are now picking up, said Dr Sangeeta Ravat, dean of KEM Hospital. “We just organised two blood donation camps, one collected 102 units and the other 80.”Dr Purushottam Puri, assistant director of State Blood Transfusion Council, said the city needs 1,200 units daily and currently has around 5,000 units across blood banks in the city. Asked about the paucity, he countered, “Blood donation camps have started receiving good response. These are ongoing efforts. We have instructed all blood banks to continue holding camps in housing societies. The situation is not yet ideal, but it’s improving.“
