Arushi Bidhuri
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Written By: Arushi Bidhuri | Published : June 14, 2021 7:10 PM IST
Challenges A Blood Donor Will Face During COVID-19
There's no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has made our lives difficult to the point where it seems hard to perform activities that seemed easier before. The pandemic that started in December 2019 resulted in great panic and fear among people for their safety and survival. Covid-19 has taken millions of lives across the globe, India being one of the worst-hit countries in the world. Many restrictions including the state-wise lockdown affected the blood transfusion services in the country.
Blood transfusion Services in India are decentralized with around 3000 licensed blood centres all over the country. All blood centres in India are either hospital based blood centres or standalone and are controlled by various organizations under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The collection capacities of these blood centres vary from 1,000 units to 70,000 units in a year from both voluntary and replacement donations. Voluntary blood donations constitute less than one per cent of the Indian population.
Blood banks throughout the world need blood donors, especially blood drives, to satisfy the needs of patient care as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic. Dr Tapti Mohapatra, Consultant and Head- Transfusion Medicine, Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru says, "donations are essential for trauma patients and people undergoing a variety of situations, including surgeries, transplants, chronic illnesses, blood disorders, and cancer."
Dr Mohapatra pens down some of the challenges a blood donor can face during the pandemic:
Fear of being exposed to the virus: Donors are not proactively going to blood banks or hospitals due to the fear of contracting Coronavirus from such places which could be exposed to infected patients.
Restriction in movement due to lockdown: Lockdown has restricted the movement of staff at blood collection centres and donors which has worsened the situation.
Limited awareness: There is limited awareness among many blood banks and centres on requisite safety and social distancing protocols to conduct blood collection without creating any safety hazards for personnel and donors.
Delay in blood donation due to vaccination: As per the latest guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 5th May 2021, vaccination delays blood donation by 14 days. One can donate blood after 14 days of taking either a Covishield or Covaxin vaccine shot.
Do not donate blood if:
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