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Mangalore: High Price, Unavailibility of Blood Put Patients in Quandary

  •   Sat, Sep 15 2012 02:55:51 PM

Mangalore: High Price, Unavailibility of Blood Put Patients in Quandary

Prakash Samaga
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore

Mangalore, Sep 15: The poorer sections of the society have been put in a dilemma when it comes to procuring blood from government hospitals in the city.

Although the Mangalore Unit of Red Cross is active in the city and its members have been arranging blood as per requirement for Wenlock and Lady Goschen hospitals, when poor relatives of patients try to avail them, they are often told that blood is unavailable.

This is because Lady Goshen has no dedicated blood bank, and the blood bank society under Red Cross which often supplies blood is located in Athena hospital.
 
Members of Mangalore Unit of Red Cross have demanded the transfer of the blood bank society from Athena hospital to Lady Goschen hospital, yet no action has been taken pushing the poor patients into trouble.

Hanumanth Kamath, an active member of the Mangalore Red Cross Unit told Daijiworld that some vested interests have been lobbying to prevent the shifting of the society to Lady Goschen hospital. “The DC has already issued a notice in this regard, but as of now no action has been taken, hence I am keeping a watch. It is an issue related to the poor and thereby should be of priority”, he added.
 
If blood is available at Lady Goschen hospital it would cost Rs 700 as against the Rs 1,200 charged by private hospitals. Moreover, information with regard to availability of blood free of cost at Lady Goschen hospital to those with BPL cards is not publicized enough, thus pointing to apathy of the concerned. As a result only 10 percent of the blood units are sold, that is, only 100 units are sold from the actual possibility of 1,000 units of being sold every day.
 
DC’s order as per the NACO guidelines to charge a uniform rate of Rs 700 per unit in private hospitals has been ignored. When a mock enquiry was made with various private hospitals in the city, a blood bank officer of one of the prestigious hospitals in the city did not hesitate to say that a unit of blood costs Rs 1,250.

It is thus high time that price of blood units is regulated and made uniform as per the DC's orders, and that Lady Goshen, being a government hospital, gets a blood bank without having to depend on outside sources.
  

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Comment on this article

  • VEERAPPA. D.N., MADIKERI

    Sun, Sep 16 2012

    Shenava's suggestions are worth implementing in Schools & Colleges under Personality Development lessons.
    There are some extremely foolish Astrologers like Brahmanda Narendra Sharma of Suvarna TV, who says that donation of Blood causes Anemia in next birth and Donation of Eyes or organs will cause similar handicap in next birth and you will be born without such organs in next life which you donated in this life. Probably this astrologer had donated his BRAIN itself in his last life, that is why he is born without brain in this life !! The people who sow the seeds of such foolish Superstitions should be first punished.

    It is true that our body recovers the donated amount of blood within 48 hours without causing any adverse effect on our health even for a day. This fact should be given wide publicity, especially in Schools & colleges.
    ( I can vouch this because I have donated blood several times voluntarily.)

    DisAgree [1] Agree [5] Reply Report Abuse

  • IMI, Mangalore / Attavar

    Sat, Sep 15 2012

    Human blood is donated free at blood banks, now find the donor he/she is poor or middle class.
    Why neglect the same in need.
    Well lets donate blood & save life specially the family in need can save more life donating blood.
    " LET`S CREATE MORE DONOR TO SOLVE THE NEED "

    DisAgree [2] Agree [8] Reply Report Abuse

  • anil , bantwal/abudhabi

    Sat, Sep 15 2012

    A very well written comment. Maybe the need of the hour is to educate the people. Most people wrongly believe that blood donations affect health.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [3] Reply Report Abuse

  • Ravi Bhaskar Shenava, MANGALORE

    Sat, Sep 15 2012

    Various Lions Clubs are doing commendable job of conducting Blood donation Camps and giving it to government Hospitals. But other clubs, even though full of Doctors as their members, are not so active in this work.
    If only college students are motivated for donating blood then only the shortage of blood in Hospitals can be solved. Right at the High School level itself some lessons should be included in their Social Science subject itself about benefits of Blood Donation, Eye donation, Organ donation, and also building psychology against suicidal Tendencies, so that by the time these High school students reach College they will be without any prejudice about Blood donation etc.
    First of all, effort should be done to educate the people and remove the misunderstanding that Blood donation will adversely affect the health of the donor in long term. Majority of the people do not know that men & women below the age of 50 yrs can Donate blood atleast twice in a year, and also people do not know that the Donated quantity blood gets fully recouped within just 48 hours fully.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [5] Reply Report Abuse

  • PHILIP, MANGALORE

    Sat, Sep 15 2012

    WE AT LIONS INTERNATIOAL CONDUCT MORE THAN 150 CAMPS AND COLLECT 4000 UNITS OF BLOOD A YEAR APPROX. FOR VARIOUS HOSPITALS. BESIDES TEJASWINI HOSPITAL HAS A LIONS BLOOD BANK. KMC and FR MULLERS WITH RED CROSS IS OUR MAIN SOURCE AND EVERYDAY WE ARRANGE "FREE" BLOOD TO THE NEEDY AS PER AVAILABILITY. CONTACT US IN URGENCY.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [11] Reply Report Abuse

  • Dinesh Poojary, Kundapura/Bengaluru

    Sat, Sep 15 2012

    Blood availability is always a problem. We required 2 bottles of blood for my grandmother's surgery in last June. We went to Ajjarakad blood bank, Udupi. They denied to give us blood unless same amount of blood is given in return. We needed the blood very urgently. Luckily my uncle is a Udupi Police. With the help of him we got the required blood on time.

    We, youths need to donate more blood, at least once in a year.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [17] Reply Report Abuse

  • SM, MANGALORE

    Sat, Sep 15 2012

    A very well written comment. Maybe the need of the hour is to educate the people. Most people wrongly believe that blood donations affect health.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [14] Reply Report Abuse

  • Kotekar, Balmatta

    Sat, Sep 15 2012

    I've been donating blood for these patients since quite sometime now and i know that even though LGH doesnt have its own blood bank, its always arranged from Wenlock which has its own facility for donating blood. The fact people and the authorities have to realize here is not the lack of blood bank in the hospital, but the lack of blood in that bloodbank. Apart from O and probably B of which around 10 units are present in every blood bank, the rest of the 6 groups are very scarce..around 2 of each in all the bloodbanks in the city together, including those in derelakatte. Even the various blood donation camps organized raise only 50 units of blood everytime. and these 50 units can get over in less than a week. The officials are correct to regulate the prices and help the poor patients, but if there is no blood, then what will they regulate the prices of?? very often i have also noticed the patient parties of these poor patients (Healthy men aged between 20-40) who come to receive these blood packets not Donating, when i asked one of them why, he said he is the working person of the family, so he cant donate as he will fall sick and then no money will come home. If this is the mentality people have when their own loved ones are in deathbed, God alone save these patients. I hope things will become better and more people are educated about the need to donate blood and its pros and cons. Mangalore and Manipal have truly revolutionized healthcare in DK/Udupi, now its time for the people of this region to step up and create a better living.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [27] Reply Report Abuse


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