Palampur: An awareness workshop was observed to mark National Voluantry blood donation day 2009 at Civil Hospital Palampur. The Chief Guest Ravinder Ravi IPH minister inaugurating a fortnight long blood donation cum awareness drive said that the proportion of voluntary donation in the State increased from 69% in 2006-07 to 81% in 2008-09. West Bengal and Maharashtra have achieved 85% voluntary blood donation, Tripura has achieved 93% voluntary donation, Chennai MACS and Daman and Diu have achieved 95% voluntary donation level whereas Dadra and Nagar Haveli have achieved the WHO target of 100% voluntary blood donation. He appealed to all citizens, and educational institutions to come forward and adopt voluntary blood donation as a mass movement and make Himachal a model state.
RK Sood, District AIDS Programme Officer, Kangra addressing the audience told that Blood Safety Programme of the National AIDS control Programme aims at ensuring access to safe blood and blood products to all. Voluntary donation is the considered to be safest form of the blood donation and thus systematically promoted through blood safety programme. Many simply do not know about the need for blood. There is a common blood groups are easily available but it is an irony that the common groups are the ones which are most commonly needed. We may all one day need treatment by blood, but only one percent of the world’s population gives blood.
On the occasion, Dr Anil Mahajan CMO Kangra, addressing the gathering told that any healthy person from the age of 18-60 can be donor. He added that people are afraid to donate blood due to fears of weakness, or ignorance about the need of blood, consequently there is always a shortage of blood. The total annual requirement of blood in India is 1crore units of blood while the total collection is about 65 lakhs units. As per NACO CMIS report, 12,720 units of blood were donated in HP in 2008-09. In Himachal only 0.2% people donate Blood which is not sufficient to meet the demand of 60,000 units. Due to scarcity even donors find it difficult to get blood. So we need many more donors, if all patients shall be guaranteed proper treatment with safe blood.
The proportion of Blood donors is lower than 0.4% in India, whereas in countries like Switzerland 11.3% persons donate blood, followed by 7% in Japan & 5.8% in Australia. An awareness rally procession on was taken out by health workers in Palampur market. Dr Vinay Mahajan, Blood Bank Officer Palampur told that Blood donation camp was organised with NIIT Palampur, and further camps are being planned for the fortnight.
