Mumbai: With many residents leaving the city on long holiday weekends, hospitals and blood banks are facing a severe blood shortage. Public hospitals have been hit the most due to the large volume of patients they serve on a daily basis and have appealed for donations.For families, the crisis has worsened an already distressing situation. When resident Meghna Agarwal’s mother underwent a partial hysterectomy for Grade A cancer at Tata Memorial Hospital last Friday, the family scrambled to find a donor. While they eventually found one, it came after a volunteer was disqualified at the last minute due to high blood pressure.The hospital has now managed to bring in a large pool of donors for its patients, all because of one tweet from its director, Dr C S Pramesh, seeking donations. Dr Pramesh told TOI that 200 units of blood were collected on Sunday—the hospital requires 100 units daily—from camps and in-house donations. The hospital also received commitments from housing societies to host blood donation camps on their premises over the next few days and weeks.The family of Praitik Ahire (28), admitted to Sion Hospital, too, was desperately searching for blood across the city after his haemoglobin dropped under 5 points.These shortages have become an annual occurrence across the city around the holiday season, leaving emergency patients struggling even as planned procedures are postponed. Most impacted are hospitals like KEM, Nair, Sion and Cooper hospitals.A KEM Hospital official said the facility currently has around 100 units of blood. This was after a camp held a few days ago. The hospital needs between 100 units and 200 units every day. “We collected 30 units less than usual. There is another camp scheduled in a few days,” the official said.Dr Pramesh said active efforts are going to be made to create a national registry of donors across the country who can be available and come forward to donate when hospitals face shortages.Like the Agarwals, 28-year-old Praitik Ahire’s family, too, was desperately searching for blood across the city after his haemoglobin dropped under 5 points. An official at KEM Hospital, where he is admitted, said the facility currently has around 100 units of blood. This was after a camp held a few days ago. The hospital needs between 100 units and 200 units every day. “We collected 30 units less than usual. There is another camp scheduled in a few days,” the official said.Anil Gare, who used to earlier handle blood banks at public hospitals, said appeals like that of Dr Pramesh help bring people to donation camps. “He could do this because he is at the top level. Seldom do we see this done by the BMC administration. Why can’t a dean of the hospital or the BMC commissioner make such appeals?”A doctor at a BMC hospital blood bank said service rules restrict employees from divulging hospital data. “Such an appeal can only come from someone within the BMC administration.”
