Officials were optimistic that the blood donation camps scheduled for Republic Day would refill the blood supply. However, this year saw a notable decrease in the number of blood donation camps on January 26.
Due to a decline in donations and fewer organized camps, multiple blood banks in Pune are experiencing shortages. Officials stated that the existing stock will only last for the next three to four days.
For the past two weeks, the city has been low on blood supply, especially for A positive, B positive, and O positive blood types. Officials were counting on Republic Day donation camps to help, but there were fewer camps this year. Ram Bangad from NGO Raktache Nate mentioned that there’s a shortage because not enough people are donating blood.
Ram Bangad mentioned that this year, only about 40 blood donation camps were held on Republic Day, a significant drop from the usual 70 to 75 camps. Additionally, the number of blood bags collected during these camps has decreased. He attributed this decline to factors like the extended weekend, increased health issues, and statewide protests impacting the organization of blood donation camps.
Due to the blood shortage, families of patients are scrambling to find donors or provide blood replacement to banks in exchange for the needed blood. Numerous government-operated blood banks in the city are experiencing severe shortages.
Dr. Nisha Teli, blood transfusion officer at Metro Blood Bank in Aundh, stated, “Over the past two weeks, we’ve been dealing with a blood shortage. Currently, we have just one bag of B Positive blood and 17 bags of other blood types.”
She further explained, “During Republic Day this year, we only received 19 blood bags, whereas we typically require over 200 bags monthly. Despite reaching out to other blood banks, most are also experiencing shortages.”
Dr. Teli mentioned that there are some blood camps planned for February, and she remains hopeful that they will yield a substantial amount of blood units. She emphasized the importance of citizens stepping forward to donate blood to help save lives.