BAHAWALPUR: The enforcement of countrywide lockdown has stopped the flow of blood donations for 3,500 thalassemia patients, of them a majority is children, registered with the regional blood centre of the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) as blood donors are not coming to the centre, perhaps because of the lockdown.

Dawn learnt that during normal days, centreofficials and its marketing section would easily persuade people to donate blood for the thalassemia patients of the BVH unitas well as of outpatientsfrom Sadiqabad to Bahawalnagarbut now donorshavealmost stopped coming to the centrecreating difficulties for the patients.

Blood centre chief executive officer Dr Uzma told Dawn on Tuesdaythe shortage of blood was alarming for the patients. She appealed to the donors as well as the public to come forward to save the lives of thalassemia patients here. She said in the present critical situation, centre’smarketing section was trying its best to approach the potential donors through social media so that the lives of the patients could be saved here. As the general public was already in the grip of Covid-19, the blood bank could not receive positive response to meet the growing need of the patients.

Zahid Qazi, manager of the marketing section, told Dawn that due to the closure of the educational institutions and other public welfare bodies, his department was unable to approach and contact the potential donors.

He said in normal days, the marketing section approached the students and jail inmates as well, who would donate blood generously for the needy patients but now all such institutions, venues and opportunities had closed. The centre provides blood to thalassemia patients free of cost and 15 to 20 bottles of blood for admitted patients of the BVH Unit are needed every day.

Mr Qazi said during the previous two years, since its establishment here, the centre had provided 32,000 bottles of blood to the patients of the Bahawalpur division.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2020