KARACHI - As the blood donations during Ramazan has drastically decline due to Ramazan fasting and hot weather, the medics urge youngsters to voluntary donate the blood for thalassaemia patients with urgent basis.
“Voluntary blood donation has declined by 70 per cent due to hot weather and Ramazan fasting,” commented eminent Hematologist and General Secretary, Omair Sana Foundation (OSF), Dr Saqib Hussain Ansari, adding, “It causing immense problems of suffering Thalassaemia-hit children and patients with emergency blood needs.”
He urged the youngsters to voluntary donate the blood to overcome the blood shortage. He revealed that Omair Sana Foundation and other Thalassaemia Management Centers had been facing acute shortage of O positive and other blood groups.
He advised that the youngsters and elder people to voluntary donate blood as it is life for thalassaemia children and other patients. He said regular blood donation had reduced the risk of heart-attack & obesity. He said there was no harm to donate blood after Iftar in Ramazan.
“Blood donation is of extreme importance as there is no alternative to blood.” There are innumerable lives that solely depend on donations, he added.
“It is completely safe and healthy to donate blood and one donation can save three lives,” he said, adding, “Healthy male adults can donate blood four times a year with a gap of three months, and up to 60 years of their age, while females can donate three times a year”. It is pertinent to mention here that more than 245,000 blood donations are made in Karachi every year to treat patients for regular blood transfusions and in emergency cases.
Out of these 45,000 per year are donated at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), and more than 100,000 at Husaini Blood Bank, Patients Welfare Association (PWA) and Civil Hospital.
According to World Health Organisation’s (WHO) website, “Unpaid and voluntary donations must be increased rapidly in more than half of the world’s countries in order to ensure a reliable supply of safe blood for patients whose lives depend on it.”
