The Vijayapura district chapter of the Indian Red Cross Society is set to open a blood component separator unit on the District Health and Family Welfare office premises near Shivaji Circle here.
With a building being renovated for the purpose, the unit is expected to start functioning within a month.
“We are waiting for funds from Coal India Ltd. under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. Then we will have full-fledged infrastructure to start the centre,” said paediatrician and president of the district chapter L.H. Bidari.
Speaking to The Hindu, he said: “During our search, we found that one of the buildings on the DHO office premises was vacant for nearly two decades. It was in a dilapidated condition. With the help of the district administration, we got the building allotted to the society,” Dr. Bidari said. Around ₹25 lakh was spent on renovating and refurbishing the building, he said.
Expressing the need for such unit here, he said that in cases of acute dengue, the patient does not need whole blood but only certain components such as platelets. The unit stores components such as plasma and platelets for emergency situation to give it to the needy at a subsidised rate.
“In order to store as much components as possible in the unit, we have already joined hands with various blood donors groups in the district. We will keep collecting blood and extract components on regular basis so that we are in a position to provide the required components during emergencies,” he said.
Blood for free
It’s good news for all thalassemia patients in the district as the blood bank of Red Cross Society will provide the required blood to them for free.
L.H. Bidari, president of the district chapter of the society, said since thalassemia patients require blood on regular intervals, it is difficult for them to keep spending money for transfusion. “Thus, we have decided to offer blood for free to all thalassemia patients here,” he said.
