Members of Ajay Sports Club held a blood camp in Surathkal on Thursday to collect about 70 units of blood, while employees of Infosys held a camp on their campus in Mudipu on the same day which generated 120 units of blood. On Friday, employees of Kasturba Medical College in Ambedkar Circle and Attavar organised a camp to collect 40 units of blood.
A unit of blood ranges between 350 ml and 450 ml.
These are among some blood donation camps held in response to appeals highlighting shortage of blood in 10 government and private blood banks in Dakshina Kannada.
While the negative group blood units are in single digits in all the blood banks, AB+ve blood is in single digit among the + ve blood groups in the blood banks.
According to administrators of the blood banks, shortage of blood is generally noticed during April and May. Edward Vas, Technical Supervisor from the Indian Red Cross Blood Bank at the Government Lady Goschen Hospital, said that the shortage is because of vacation for college students, who are among the largest blood donors. Young labour, who also donate blood, are now not available as they have gone to their native places for functions and harvesting, he said.
Bhavani Shankar, Technical Supervisor at the KMC Blood Bank, said that it is during these two months of vacation that hospitals schedule many surgeries that resulting in increase in the demand for blood. “As against issuance of about 80 units of blood per day, we get about 20 units blood in the form of blood donation,” Mr. Shankar said.
Foreseeing the shortage, Mr. Vas said that the Indian Red Cross started holding blood donation camps since January. “By March, we had 400 units of blood. Due to shortage of blood in other blood banks, we had to supply blood to those banks and our stock came down,” he said.
Mr. Shankar and J. Sharath Kumar, Senior Specialist of KMC Hosptial’s Regional Blood Transfusion Centre, said that messages are being sent to individuals and to social and other organisations prompting them to donate blood.
Among the individuals who have responded include Mangaluru South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath, who donated blood at the KMC Hospital a few days ago.
