Blood donation dips in Himachal

SHIMLA: Amid the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, hospitals in Himachal Pradesh are facing a shortage of blood.

Blood donation camps that were slated for the coming weeks have been deferred due to the lockdown and the suspension of public transport to contain the spread of coronavirus. Nine such camps were to be held in Shimla by NGOs, students and welfare groups to meet the requirement of the three main hospitals: IGMC, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and Kamla Nehru Hospital.

“As of now, there are 300 units of the blood available with us. It’s enough for a week as the demand has also dropped to 50 units a day with elective surgeries on hold. But we fear that in the coming days, there may be a shortage,” says Sandeep Malhotra, the head of transfusion medicine at IGMC.

With blood donation camps being cancelled in towns, the NGOs are trying to motivate youngsters from the rural areas to volunteer for the cause. “We are organising a camp at Sairi near Jutogh,” says Ajay Srivastva, the founder of Umang Foundation that collected 800 blood units despite the lockdown last year. Sarabjeet Singh Bobby, the founder of Almighty Blessing, that runs free langars and ambulance services in Shimla, says: “We offer free pick-up and drop facility to people keen on donating blood.”

Gap post-vaccination down to 14 days

Besides the lockdown, the misconception related to abstaining from blood donation for 28 days post-vaccination is also being seen as a reason for reluctance among donors. HTC