Blood banks may run dry

With the Ramadan starting late this month, when donations usually  dip, getting blood for thalassemia and cancer patients and those  requiring regular dialysis would be challenging if the shutdown  continued for a long time, the organisations said.

The organisations requested eligible people to donate blood and save lives.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, Bangladesh needs between 10 and 11 lakh bags of blood every year.

Voluntary organisations deliver around 30 percent of the total  demand while the rest comes from direct donations, Sheikh Daud Adnan,  programme manager of Hospital Services Management of DGHS, told The  Daily Star yesterday.

Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BRCS), Quantum Foundation,  Sandhani, Badhan, and Police Blood Bank are among the prominent  voluntary blood donors' organisations and banks.

Daud said they collected 8.38 lakh bags last year directly from  donors at different hospitals and different voluntary organisations.  This does not include blood collected by different army hospitals and  other blood banks.

About reserves, he said it has decreased at different hospitals. But he could not give any specific data.

The government on March 23 announced closure of all public and  private offices from March 26 to April 4 and extended it till April 14.  Besides, people have been advised not to go out unless it was for  emergencies or buying essentials.

Last month, the Red Crescent collected 747 bags of blood. It had collected 2,527 bags in the same month last year.

The organisation supplied 1,170 bags last month. The amount was 3,536 bags in March last year.

The Red Crescent usually collects the highest number of blood bags  in March when events are organised by organisations to mark the  Independence Day and the birthday of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu  Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

But all the blood donation events were cancelled this year because  of the spread of Covid-19, said Tarek Hussain, director (blood  programme) of Red Crescent.

"Our outdoor blood collection has been stopped since March 26 and  indoor collection is also decreasing," he told The Daily Star on Sunday.  Besides, blood collection usually remains low during Ramadhan, he  added.

"As many thalassemia, cancer, kidney and emergency patients depend  on our regular blood supply, the shortage may put their lives in  danger."

"Managing blood [for patients] would be a big problem if the situation worsens," he said.

They are appealing to the eligible blood donors -- through mobile phone and their website -- to donate blood.

Besides, they have asked thalassemia patients to bring blood donors with them.

Tarek, however, said demand for blood also decreased as most of the hospitals and clinics are now devoid of patients.

Red Crescent Society collected 70,000 bags of blood last year, he said.

Blood donations Badhan, a voluntary donors' organisation based in  different educational institutions, received dropped 80 percent after  the virus outbreak.

As the government declared all educational institutions closed,  their operations in major institutions like Dhaka University,  Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi University remained suspend, Johahid  Chakder, general secretary of Badhan, said.

"Some of our units at districts are functioning. Besides, we try to  reach donors over phone. Yet, the collection declined to 20 percent," he  told this newspaper on Sunday.

Badhan, which has 136 units in 75 educational institutions in 53  districts, collected around 59,000 bags of blood last year, he said.

Moniruzzaman, coordinator of voluntary blood donation programme at  Quantum Foundation, said they had collected 5,057 bags of blood in  January. But it came down to 4,229 and 4,195 in February and March, he  said.

"If the shutdown continues for a long time, it would be difficult  for us to collect and distribute blood among the patients in need," he  also said.

Last year, they collected 67,446 bags of blood and distributed 1,14,832 bags, some with separated blood content.

"We have a communication cell through which we are communicating  with our listed donors to convince them to stand by critical patients  who need blood," said Moniruzzaman.

Sub-Inspector Siddiqul Islam, in charge of Police Blood Bank, said  they usually collect the most amount of blood in February and March by  organising blood donation programmes.

"This year, we could collect only around 800 to 900 bags in the two months; it was 2,000 bags last year," he added.

They collected 12,000 bags of blood last year.

Md Ihsanul Karim Tanjeem, general secretary of Sandhani's Dhaka  Medical College Unit, said the collection and distribution of blood have  decreased amid the outbreak of coronavirus.

"We used to supply 550 to 600 bags of blood each month from our  unit. In February and March, we could supply only 200 to 250 bags due to  shortage of blood donors," he said.

"We are finding it hard to find donors now," he said, adding that it  took them several hours to find donor for a relative of a minister.