In a shocking revelation of blood wastage, over 28 lakh units were discarded by blood banks in the last five years across the country.
If converted to litres, the number will cross a whopping 6 lakh litres which can fill up almost 53 water tankers. India faces an annual shortage of 3 million units on an average. Primarily accident victims and women in labour pain are the worst sufferers of blood shortage, reported The Times of India.
Over 6.57 lakh units of blood were discarded in the year 2016-17 only. Among the states, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka & Tamil Nadu are among the worst offenders.
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A major reason behind the wastage of blood is because of the excess units of blood collected during camps.
Quoting Dr Zarine Bharucha of the Indian Red Cross Society, the TOI report said that a collection of upto 500 units was acceptable and manageable.
Bharucha told the newspaper, "But we have seen and heard of camps where 1,000 to 3,000 units are collected... Where is the place to store so much blood?"
She added, "Why can't people walk into regular banks and donate once every three months?".
A better networking between blood banks and state officials is required to reduce the wastage of the blood across the country.
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Also, the fact that there are 80 districts in the country without blood banks shows how badly blood banks are managed in the country.
They fall under states and UTs like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Manipur.
