To curb blood shortage, KCR government to invest 50cr to establish 13 new banks in state

HYDERABAD: In a move that is expected to save hundreds of lives in the districts and also reduce the load on government hospitals like Gandhi, Osmania, Niloufer, Zajgikhana among others in Greater Hyderabad, the TRS government is establishing 13 more blood banks in the state ensuring that all district hospitals had one blood bank each.

Nearly Rs 50 crore would be spent to establish the blood banks and its components in the state including remote areas. Setting up blood banks in district hospitals will stem the flow of patients from districts to the state capital. Due to non-availability of adequate blood units, hospital authorities in rural areas advise patients to go to Hyderabad.

"Lots of blood units are required during deliveries, surgeries and other emergencies in every district. After reorganisation of districts from 10 to 31, the government felt the need to increase the number of blood banks ensuring every district head quarter had one such facility," officials said.

Every year, the hospitals under the control of Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parihad i.e., district hospitals and area hospitals on an average get 12 lakh patients and over 65,000 operations are conducted, 60,000 sterilisations and about one lakh deliveries. All these require blood units in large numbers.

Now, the State government is improving and strengthening the district hospitals with latest medical and diagnostic equipment, providing super speciality doctors and recently it has been decided to strengthen and improve the delivery and operation theatres and trauma care centres in every district. The setting up of blood banks to support all these developments at district level will prove to be a boon for the patients from rural areas.

However, experts said that the challenge would be to procure blood for these new blood banks. "Collection of blood is a voluntary exercise and has to be planned strategically. The officials being allotted to these blood banks would be given training in tapping the young blood i.e. college students, and prepare a list of blood donors. A massive awareness campaign would be taken up in towns and districts about the importance and noble cause of donating blood," said S Ram Mohan, Joint Director, Blood Safety, Telangana State AIDS Control Society.

As per government norms, every blood bank in government hospitals are given a target of collecting 2500 blood units per annum. "As per national policy, priority should be to collect blood from youngsters i.e. up to 90 per cent of the total blood collection should be from the youth. Even private blood banks that conduct blood donation camps must give 30 per cent of their collections to government hospitals. This is because the common man approaches the government hospital first in case of either a minor ailment or even an emergency that requires blood units or components of it such as plasma, platelets to name a few," Ram Mohan added.