Critical shortage in blood donations in Pakistan due to Covid-19: PRCS

There is a critical shortage in blood donations in Pakistan due to Covid-19, which emerges on Saturday.

In Pakistan thousands of people have lost lives to Covid-19; however, even more, lives are at risk due to blood shortage, especially among patients suffering from leukemia, thalassemia, hemophilia, anemia, or those undergoing critical surgeries or injured in road accidents.

The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has issued a public appeal for blood donations to save lives amid serious blood shortages triggered due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement issued, the Chairman of PRCS Abrar ul Haq revealed that the PRCS Regional Blood Donor Centre (RBDC) housed at the National Headquarters would usually collect 500-1000 donations in any given month; these have declined to just a few dozen units only.

“Around 90% of PRCS blood supply has been threatened by the cancellation of community blood drives due to Covid-19. Educational institutions and industrial units have been the major source of blood collection, and their closure in days of the pandemic, has severely impacted blood donations,” the statement added.

“The COVID virus cannot be transmitted through blood donation process or blood transfusion as respiratory viruses are not transmitted by donation or transfusion,” Abrar clarified in the statement.

“PRCS has implemented all necessary safety measures needed during the pandemic and we would like to urge everybody to continue donating blood,” he added.