Mumbai: Call for blood donation ahead of summer vacation

The State Blood Transfusion Council has approached Shree Aniruddha Bapu and Narendra Maharaj to organise blood donation camps to make up for the shortage foreseen during summer vacation. The council witnesses a shortage every year during summer months as people are away on vacations.

A senior health official said the daily requirement across Maharashtra is 3,000-5,000 units and so far no shortfall is being witnessed.

An SBTC officer said a donation camp will be organised on April 23 by Shree Anirudh Bapu Sanstha at Bandra-Kurla Complex ground. “We will also issue a circular regarding blood donation drives across the state and city,” he said.

SBTC to urge NGOs, hospitals, etc to hold camps

Dr Arun Thorat, former assistant director of SBTC, said that they call upon all stakeholders to organise donation drives at their level to overcome the summer shortage every year as there have been instances of beneficiaries facing problems in procuring blood from banks due to shortage.

“We need back-up options. Many voluntary donors are normally on vacation, so we issue circulars asking societies, NGOs, hospitals and local corporators asking them to hold camps depending on their capacity so that there is no wastage,” Dr Thorat said.

According to SBTC, the major contributor to the city’s blood requirement are donation camps. “I think we are in a much better position than the last two years when donors hesitated owing to the pandemic and people were working from home,” said a senior blood transfusion officer from the civic-run blood bank.