Replacing worn-out vehicles of GRH’s blood collection unit is the need of the hour

The mobile blood collection bus and two blood transportation vans used in Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital have worn out in the last fifteen years and requires replacement to fulfil the increasing need of blood collection. The blood collection bus in GRH is one of two buses in the State. The other blood collection bus is being used in Government Kilpauk Medical College hospital in Chennai. The bus in GRH, which has a capacity to store about 600 units of blood has four electrically operated blood drawing couches. The advantage of the bus, as said by doctors, was that it requires lesser manpower when compared to what would be required in blood donation camps. Also, M. Sintha, Professor and Head of Department, Blood Bank, said, the bus which was launched in 2010 was taken to all the southern districts for blood collection through Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign. “Even an individual or organisation who registers prior are allowed to take the bus to their preferred location for blood collection,” she added. Sheer visibility of the buses when taken to rural areas, made many people willingly coming forward to donate blood, Dr. Sintha said. “As we cannot coerce anyone into blood donation, it is only through awareness and goodwill that people will come forward to donate blood,” she added. She spoke about the increase in need of blood every day, due to various advancements in the medical field to diagnose and treat patients suffering from unique and grievous conditions. Dr. Sintha also noted the increase in road accidents due to more number of vehicles on the road. All these factors have made a significant increase in the need for blood, which on the other hand has also increased the need for blood donation, she added. While Chennai and Madurai do not have a huge difference in blood collection, it was 28,000 units in Madurai last year, and the blood collection should be the same in Chennai, Dr. Sintha stated. “Last year, about 75,000 patients used blood from the bank in GRH,” Dr. Sintha noted. A senior doctor in GRH, said, even the two blood transportation vans were already more than 10-year-old. “Even though the blood collection bank which is under the maintenance of Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society is serviced every year, the complexity of the vehicle owing to its advanced techniques makes it difficult to be serviced immediately when it faces any problems,” he added. As the blood collected through the blood collection bus and at GRH was not only used here at GRH, but also used in other taluk hospitals, the need has obviously increased. Further, once the functioning of the tower block building funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) begins, the need for blood would definitely increase and in order to match the need, additional facilities should be created, he added. If the existing bus and vans were replaced with new ones, the old ones could be used in other districts where the need was not that high, the doctor said. Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit