Need blood donors, AP tells Centre

Dr A. Sreedhar Reddy, chairman of the Indian Red Cross Society, Krishna District, explained the reasons for the shortage. He said, “The blood donating activity had decreased in the past few years. In the past, the fans associations of movie stars used to organise camps regularly. The colleges also used to conduct blood donation camps on occasion. We got as many units we required at that time.”

“The rumour about private blood banks selling blood is also a reason for the shortage of blood donors,” he added. He also said, in the past, the government took up motivational and promotional programmes.

“Movie stars and celebrities used to campaign for blood donation. Nowadays, we cannot see one person come forward for the cause. Lack of motivation is the main reason why new donors are not turning up.”

Dr B. Kiranmayi, in-charge of the Blood Bank at the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada, said, “We are unable to conduct blood donation camps due to lack of funds. As of now, we are managing with the 30 per cent blood received from private blood banks and the relatives of the patients.”

The doctors said that they are managing with the minimum blood required to make the patient recover fast.

Dr M. Mohan of the Indian Red Cross Society said, “We are not getting enough blood for transfusion. We are just managing with the available blood. Thalassemia patients need freshly collected blood every 21 days. There are about 1,600 patients in the state, among them 85 are registered with us in Vijayawada. It is very difficult to arrange blood for such patients.”