Voluntary blood donations very low in hospitals

Islamabad : Voluntary blood donations are very low in Islamabad forcing the two major government hospitals of the city to ask patients to manage replacements for the blood to be transfused.

PIMS and Polyclinic sustain their blood transfusion systems through ‘family donors’, blood relations of patients.

According to PIMS spokesman Dr Wasim Khawaja, just five per cent of the blood collected by the hospital in the last one year was donated by the relatives or acquaintances of the admitted patients.

The rest came through family donation.

Dr Wasim said the hospital transfused 30,000 units of blood to patients during the last one year. Among them were gynaecological, hepatitis, thalassaemia, traffic accident, kidney and burns patients.

He said the hospital provided blood to patients in emergency ward round the clock and arranged blood donation camps across the city.

Polyclinic spokesman Dr Sharif Astori also reported very low voluntary blood donations and said more than 90 per cent of donations came from the attendants of patients.