How COVID -19 has hit blood donations in Kerala

Those involved in blood donation work say that such a dearth of donors has never been experienced before.
How COVID -19 has hit blood donations in Kerala
How COVID -19 has hit blood donations in Kerala
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The spike in the number of coronavirus cases in Kerala has made many people wary of stepping out and into public spaces. And while that is a good step to prevent the spread of the disease, it has had an adverse effect on blood donation drives in the state, leading to a sharp decline in the units of blood available.

At a recent weekly blood donation drive at Technopark, IT hub of Thiruvananthapuram, conducted by Terumo Penpol which is India’s largest blood bag manufacturer, only four donors turned up. On average, these drives, which are conducted as a part of the Terumo Penpol’s Corporate Social Responsibility (SCR) initiative, see a collection of 50-60 units of blood, but could manage only four this time.

“There is anyway a dearth of blood donors in the summer, but the situation is worse this time because of the coronavirus pandemic. People are hesitant to come out, particularly to a spot where there could be a large gathering, like blood donation drives. This poses a problem because people mostly schedule non-urgent surgeries during school vacations,” Baby Berly, Public Relations and CSR Manager at Terumo Penpol, told TNM.

Blood donation in the state has been affected ever since March 12, after there has been an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported.

After March 12, the Kerala Aids Control Society (KACS) which runs several blood banks, including those of government hospitals in Kerala, had issued directions to ensure necessary preventive measures while conducting outreach camps as well as for in-house blood donations.

“The blood banks in the state have been trying to avoid a crisis situation with the help of various NGOs and associations, particularly during the days of surgery. We have even tried to conduct blood donation drives in colleges after intimating students who have already gone back home as well. However, given the situation, the response has not been great as not many are keen to travel back for blood donation,” a source at KACS told TNM.

“Usually it’s the college students who flock for blood donation camps even with just a social media post for the same. It is also the blood of the youth which is more in demand as they have fewer health issues.  Now, the situation has become harder to manage after educational institutions have been asked to close ahead of vacations, and people don’t step out for any group activity,” said KP Rajagopalan, who heads an NGO named Kerala Blood Donors Society.

KACS also issues the license for blood banks attached to the private hospitals in the state. There are a total of 178 blood banks in Kerala, out of which 35 banks are attached to government hospitals. The average daily blood requirement in regions like Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode -the three prominent regions in the state where the number of hospitals is the highest - is 500-600 units.

“At this point, our priority is to meet emergencies, not daily requirement,” the source said.

These developments have exacerbated existing pressures. “Even on normal days, the blood collection through donation is not enough to meet the actual requirement. Now the situation has become worse,” KP Rajagopalan said.

He added that the government should take this into consideration and put out a call for blood donations. “It’s absolutely safe to donate blood even now by if strictly follow safety guidelines. I have been working on blood donation for 45 years and has never experienced a shortage like this before,” he  said.

A silver lining, those working in the field point out, is that of late, some members of youth wings of some political parties have been coming in for donating blood in the current scenario. Healthcare workers hope it can resolve the shortage to some extent.

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