Centre directs govt offices to celebrate World Blood Donor Day to increase blood collection
Kolkata, June 12
With the aim to increase blood donation in the country, the Union government has directed all its its Ministries/departments and their subordinate/attached offices/autonomous bodies to observe the World Blood Donor Day on June 14.
The theme for this year is: "One Drop of Humanity, Give Blood, Save Lives".
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in an order dated May 22, has directed the offices to organise "suitable programmes" that may include "awareness activities, voluntary blood donation camps, and other outreach efforts".
Ministries have also been urged to disseminate the campaign message through social, print and electronic media to promote "community engagement and participation".
According to government data, India requires 14.6 million units of blood annually, as per a 2018 study by the National Blood Transfusion Council.
Experts say that the study was conducted based on a projected population estimate of 1.31 billion in 2017.
The estimated population in 2025 is 1.46 billion and the requirement of blood has gone up accordingly.
espite voluntary donations and contributions from family members and relatives of patients, a shortage of blood exists.
It is estimated that nearly 12,000 patients die every day in different parts of the country in multiple scenarios due to lack of access to safe blood on time.
There is a shortage of blood due to lack of awareness, myths around blood donation, fear associated with it and infrequent camps.
"A single unit of blood, if broken down into red cells, plasma and platelets, can save the lives of three people," experts said.
These could be a cancer patient, someone suffering from trauma after an accident and a baby.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that one per cent of a country's population donate blood to meet minimum needs.
This means that there should be at least 14 million donors in India.
However, the number of registered blood donors in the country is 8.9 million.
No wonder, there is a shortfall of about one million units per year.
The Union government hopes for things to improve through its campaigns on the World Blood Donor Day.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The 12,000 deaths per day statistic is heartbreaking. 😢 My cousin needed blood after a road accident and we struggled to find donors at 2am. More awareness camps in rural areas would really help. The myths about blood donation making you weak are still very common in villages.
Appreciate the effort but this feels like another circular that'll gather dust. 🤔 We need concrete action, not just 'suitable programmes'. Why not make blood donation a CSR requirement? Also, the NBTC should update that 2018 study - we can't plan 2025 targets with 7-year-old data.
Finally some good news! 🙏 I work in a hospital and we face blood shortages every single week. The 'One Drop of Humanity' theme is beautiful. If every educated person in India donated just twice a year, we'd easily meet the requirement. Let's break the myths and save lives! 🇮🇳
The gap between demand (14.6 million units) and supply (8.9 million donors) is alarming. One unit saving three lives is powerful - imagine how many we could save if everyone participated. I'm organizing a camp in our society this Sunday. Small steps add up!
Good direction but I hope this isn't just for show. Many government offices don't even have basic first aid kits. Instead of just World Blood Donor Day, why not make it a quarterly drive? Also, social media campaigns are fine, but in India, loudspeaker announcements in local languages reach more people.
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