Replacement blood donations not trusted: Experts

When his 83-year-old father, who was diagnosed with a hard prostate requiring a biopsy, was hospitalised in one of the city’s leading private hospitals, Lakshman S was instructed to find a donor to replace the blood that was used for his father from the hospital’s blood bank. He said it was difficult to arrange the replacement immediately. Moreover, he was unhappy with the lack of a proper screening of the donor before the blood donation. 

“The donor was merely asked his history after which he was considered eligible to donate,” he said. Replacement donors’ lack of interest makes it unsafe for the patients who get blood from the facility at the hospital. 

“It is certainly not as safe as altruistic donations,” said Dr Srinivasan Periathiruvadi of the Jeevan Blood Bank and Research Centre. The situation is not so bad at government hospitals, as they conduct blood donation camps on a regular basis. They also receive a number of voluntary blood donors. 

“Private Hospitals do not go out for blood donation camps, as they find it easier to ask their patients to arrange replacement donors,” added Dr Periathiruvadi. “Blood donation camps are essential to ensure that the hospital faces no shortage. 

While reaching 100 per cent voluntary blood donations (VBDs) is important, private banks continue to depend solely on replacement donations. Despite the fact that government hospitals like the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) cater to a much larger population, the blood obtained from camps and VBDs is sufficient for us,” stated a doctor from RGGGH.