Indian Youth Congress organises blood donation camp to help thalassemia and dialysis patients

By Siddharth Sharma
New Delhi [India], April 12 (ANI): Acting upon the call of Pitampura Blood Bank, the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) organised a blood donation camp at its headquarter in New Delhi on April 11.
Delhi has thousands of thalassemia patients and around 75,000 patients are also on dialysis and require regular blood transfusions. But due to the lockdown, the number of donors has nosedived, which has had a negative effect on the stocks of blood in several government and private hospitals, and in blood banks run by NGOs in the national capital.
IYC President BV Shrinivas told ANI, "We organised this blood donation camp while following social distancing and all other COVID-19 related guidelines to play our part in providing blood for thalassemia and dialysis patients. This initiative was first started by Kerala and Maharashtra units of IYC."
"In this hour of emergency, IYC stands with the nation, in providing help and support to every individual, in every way possible," he added.
Thanking IYC for acting upon their request, Anurag Anand, Administrative Head of Pitampura Blood Bank, told ANI that his organisation has also started door to door collection of blood from willing donors.
"The supply of blood has been affected owing to the lockdown, but the demand for blood units for patients and for emergency surgeries still exists. Therefore, we contacted IYC and they arranged the camp," Anand told ANI here.
"We request everyone, who is healthy and able, to donate blood. Taking note of the lockdown situation we have also started doorstep collection of blood. Therefore, any volunteer can call us directly and we will collect blood from their homes through proper procedure. 2.5 lakh units of blood are needed in Delhi on a monthly basis," he added.
Earlier this week, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) had put in place a set of national guidance norms to ensure adequacy and safety of blood, given the restrained gathering and social distancing norms in force currently.
The development comes after the government had received several requests from various stakeholders regarding the concerns for maintaining safety and adequacy of blood during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NBTC has issued interim recommendations for blood transfusion services to maintain a safe and adequate blood supply amid the coronavirus crisis. (ANI)