Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 2: Wenlock District Hospital in Mangaluru is among four government blood centres in Karnataka to receive dedicated blood collection and transportation vehicles as the state moves to strengthen its blood supply network and ensure timely access to adequate, safe and quality blood.
Health minister U T Khader inaugurated the four vehicles on Thursday for government blood centres designated as Regional Centres of Excellence (RCOE). The other three centres are Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru, VIMS in Ballari and KIMS in Hubballi.
Through these regional centres, blood and blood components will be supplied to district and taluk hospitals, community health centres, blood storage units and other hospitals requiring blood within their respective regions.
The new transportation system is aimed at reducing regional disparities in blood availability by moving supplies from areas with surplus stocks to locations facing shortages.
The initiative is particularly important for patients suffering from thalassemia, sickle cell disease and anaemia, who require regular access to safe blood and blood components. The centres will also play an important role during medical emergencies by helping transport blood to hospitals where it is urgently required.
Khader has previously highlighted the importance of voluntary blood donation, stressing that there is no substitute for donated blood despite advances in medical technology.
“Despite huge technology and advance, we don't have substitute for blood. Only blood can replace blood,” Khader said while addressing a World Blood Donor Day gathering in 2013.
He had also urged people to view blood donation as a way of serving society, saying, “We all should serve society on one or the other and blood donation is one of the greatest ways to do it.”
Khader further emphasised the life-saving value of every donation, saying, “Just think that one bottle blood donated by you saves lives and you understand its importance.”
The latest initiative places the four RCOEs at the centre of a more coordinated regional blood distribution system. With Wenlock District Hospital serving as the designated centre for Mangaluru and the surrounding region, the new vehicle is expected to facilitate faster movement of blood and its components to healthcare facilities facing shortages.
The system is intended to ensure that blood collected in one part of a region can be transported efficiently to another location when demand rises, helping minimise delays in accessing essential blood supplies.
The four centres are also expected to strengthen preparedness for emergencies while supporting patients who depend on regular transfusions and other blood-component therapies.