Gaya, March 19: Anugrah Narayan Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH) has decided to organise two voluntary blood donation camps on March 22 to combat the crisis of blood units at the health hub.
In-charge of the blood bank at the health hub Naseem Ahmad has sent letters through the ANMCH superintendent, Sitaram Prasad, to the district administration, private organisations among others requesting participation at the donation camp.
The voluntary blood donation camps will be organised on the ANMCH campus and at Gaya Gandhi Maidan on March 22, the first day of Bihar Divas.
ANMCH has sent letters to the Gaya district magistrate, the senior superintendent of police, the civil surgeon, the college principal, the district education officer, the commanding officer of National Cadet Corps (NCC), Gaya, The Art of Living Gaya branch among others.
Ahmad told The Telegraph: “There was a time when there were around 120 units of blood at the bank. Today, hardly 37 units of blood are available at the bank. Attendants do not donate blood as replacement to the units administered to their patients. This is the reason behind the shortage of blood units at the bank. According to the National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco), the Union health ministry and the state health department have been encouraged to advocate voluntary donation instead of replacement donation. But developing a culture for voluntary blood donation would take time.”
ANMCH superintendent Sitaram Prasad told The Telegraph: “Requests were made on several occasions earlier for voluntary blood donation camps but the response had been poor. Only the NCC cadets are regular in their participation. On earlier instances, security personnel have also come forward to donate blood. Response to requests for the camps on March 22 is, however, still awaited.”
Sources said to encourage voluntary donation, Naco had sent letters to the office of the Magadh University vice-chancellor and the district magistrate to organise blood donation camps last year.
The letters were forwarded to the principals of colleges under the varsity and district administration employees, but there was hardly any response.
