BENGALURU, 12 MARCH

The City Blood Bank is facing a nearly 50 per cent shortage of blood which is causing significant challenges for patients who need blood.

Donors are avoiding blood donation due to concerns about Covid cases, as well as college students being busy with exams and vacations. This reluctance to donate has led to a situation where blood banks are seeing only one person walking in to donate in a month, exacerbating the crisis. The scarcity of blood is creating a nightmarish scenario for thousands of patients who require transfusions for various medical conditions.

Without an adequate supply of blood, these patients face delays in receiving life-saving treatments and may experience worsening health conditions. Speaking to Salar News, the Staff at the St John hospital said, "We need 150 blood donors, and we have been waiting for the donors for over two weeks, and it is difficult to treat patients.”

Mobile blood donation drives, public campaigns, and incentives for donors have been reduced in the City over the past two months. The Lion's blood bank said, “Earlier we used to have 3,500 units of blood in a month and now we have 500 units of blood, and every day we get the request for nearly 150 to 200 patients in need of blood.”

Another blood bank from the city Red Cross Blood bank said, “After Covid, we have seen low turnout in the blood donation, and we have only college students' blood support drive to collect the blood, and we do not have any other drives to rely on.” However, the blood banks in Bengaluru have expressed concerns about a significant drop in blood donations outside of the college season. During periods when colleges are in session, there is typically an increase in blood donations due to student participation in donation drives. However, when colleges are closed, there is a noticeable decline in donations.

To address this issue, blood banks are urging individuals from the IT sector and other working professionals to step forward and donate blood. Salar News