Knp blood bank faces crisis as surgeries resume

KANPUR With government hospitals resuming conducting surgeries like pre-Covid days, city’s biggest blood bank at the GSVM medical college in Kanpur is facing the crisis of negative blood groups.

“While only 18 units of negative blood groups was available, the stock of positive groups, particularly that of A and AB positive, was also depleting. In view of the crisis, the blood bank has borrowed 100 units of blood from the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in Lucknow,” said an official. The blood bank has appealed to people to donate blood or the situation would worsen. The medical college blood bank caters to need of blood in majority of hospitals. As on Tuesday and Wednesday it had 18 units of A, B, O, AB negative blood groups. While it has 25 units of A and AB positive blood groups, officials insist the stock is enough to last only for two days.

The crisis would affect some 110 patients of Thalassemia who are being given blood regularly from the bank. Their number has doubled since the Covid as the bank was providing the blood to 50 patients last year.

Prof Lubna Khan, head of the blood bank, said, after resumption of surgeries the demand for blood has increased exponentially. “We are getting a demand of 70 to 100 units per day against which we have merely 20 donors on an average. RML Lucknow has given some relief with 100 units but people need to donate to alleviate the crisis,” she said.