Volunteer donors meet 32% of blood demand in Bangladesh

The medical demand for blood in Bangladesh is nine lakh bags annually, and volunteer donors help meet 32% of that demand. The remaining 68% comes from relatives and friends of blood recipients, health experts say. 

Treating accident patients, surgery, C-section procedures of pregnant women, and thalassemia patients requires regular blood transfusions. Due to the demand, people are forced to take blood from illegal blood banks, increasing the risk of unsafe blood transfusions.

Hence experts are calling for regulatory monitoring of blood banks to ensure safe blood transfusions.

Professor Dr Ashadul Islam, chairman, Department of Transfusion Medicine at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) said, alongside voluntary blood donations, Sandhani, Badhan and Quantum have now become blood banks.

Patients spend money to receive blood from them, though in most cases, relatives of patients can meet the need for blood.

"Many illegal blood banks have come up to cash in on the increasing demand for blood, hampering safe blood transfusions and increasing the risk of various diseases." 

The government should monitor blood banks across the country to address the problem, Dr Ashadul Islam said.

World Blood Donor Day was celebrated on Monday under these circumstances and this time the theme of the day was "Donating blood is an act of solidarity."

According to the Blood Transfusion Act, a person can donate 450-500 ml of blood if his weight is above 50 kilograms and 350 ml if he weighs 45 kg. Blood donors must go through some tests like hepatitis-B, C, HIV, malaria and syphilis.

Dr Ashraful Hoque, assistant professor, Department of Blood Transfusion at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, told TBS that if blood donors were put into a digital card system, it would be possible to keep accurate information. It would also be possible to find out if any people around are willing to donate blood for someone else which would reduce the suffering of people who need blood.
 
Dr Ataul Karim, deputy program manager of the Safe Blood Transfusion Program of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said the country has an annual need of 9.5 lakh to 10 lakh bags of blood. Last year, 7.5 lakh bags of blood were collected and transfused to  recipients. 70% of blood donors are men and 30% are women.
 
He said, "There has never been a crisis for blood in any accident or emergency yet. However, we still have a shortage of component separation facilities from whole blood.  For example, the facility of platelet separation from blood for dengue patients, or plasma for other patients, is still limited. These facilities are available only in the major divisional cities."