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| Sunday, 6 June 2004 |
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Don't 'buy' blood, Blood Bank warns by Shanika Sriyananda Medical officers of the Blood Bank have urged the relatives of patients who are in need of blood, to avoid 'buying' blood from donors. According to medical officers, in emergency situations, where a patient's relatives find it difficult to find a donor, they tend to seek the support of paid blood donors, declaring the donor as a relative of the patient. Paid blood donations are prohibited in Sri Lanka. Dr. Champa Manchanayake, Senior Medical Officer of the National Blood Transfusion Services said they had information about paid blood donors who charge between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 2,000 for normal blood groups and Rs. 5,000 for O Negative blood. "They posed as relatives of patients and used to operate from small wooden boutiques along the Colombo National Hospital road some time back", she said adding that the Blood Bank was sure that the business was still in progress. "Getting blood from an unknown person is highly risky as we do not know the illnesses that the donor may have suffered. One pint of blood from a person will be given not only to the particular patient, but also to four or five other patients. If the 'paid relative' is suffering from an illness, all these people who are given such blood transfusions, will be infected", she said. Dr. Manchanayake told a media seminar organised by the Health Education Bureau that the Blood Bank encouraged voluntary blood donors who were committed, motivated, well-informed about the safety of blood transfusion and free of diseases such as Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Syphilis. According to her, the demand for blood transfusion is on the increase and they are in need of more donors to meet the demand. "Earlier, there was a big demand for blood because of the war. Now, even without the war, the demand is the same. The Colombo National Hospital needs over 250 pints of blood and the Thalassaemia patients at the Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital need over 50 pints of blood daily. Besides, we have to supply blood for pregnant women with serious complications and to victims of serious accidents. The Blood Bank cannot meet the demand of the Cancer Hospital Maharagama", she explained. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health is in the process of finalising a National Policy on Blood Transfusion to make blood distribution safe and also to discourage paid blood donors. Under the proposal by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, the Ministry is also having discussions with officials of the Registrar of Persons to include the blood group on National Identity Card. |
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