Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan along the border, the Gujarat government on Friday directed blood banks across the state to hold voluntary donation camps and collect blood up to their full storage capacity.
Besides, 154 Class-2 medical officers from Central and South Gujarat districts have been deputed at six border districts in the state for “uninterrupted health services” in case the need arises.
A circular from Dr Kartik Shah, Director of Gujarat State Council for Blood Transfusion, has urged blood centres across the state to organise voluntary blood donation camps.
Issued on Friday, the circular stated, “Considering the current emergency situation, there could be serious need for blood in the state as well as at the national level…”
The circular included an annexure enlisting all the registered blood centres along with the available storage capacity and the existing units of blood available in stock, urging the centres to add units for maximum storage.
The circular said, “…in order to ensure that the blood centres across the state have stored… to their maximum capacity, efforts need to be made to collect more units of blood.”
The circular stated that the direction has come after discussions over the prevalent situation on Thursday and Friday. A total of 195 registered blood banks in the state have a storage capacity of 2,37,143 units and currently have available stock of 85,194 units, including Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP), Platelets, Cryoprecipitate and Whole Blood.
The blood banks in the state also conducted a voluntary blood donation camp on Thursday and collected 2,763 units as against the target of 6,601 units.
The Gujarat Commissionerate Of Health, Medical Services, Medical Education And Research, also issued an order appointing Class-2 medical officers to the border districts of the state – Jamnagar, Porbandar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Banaskantha, Patan and Kutch, “considering the emergency situation” in the country and the state and to ensure “uninterrupted health services” in the border districts.
A total of 154 Class-2 medical officers from the districts of Dahod, Panchmahal, Narmada, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Tapi, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Kheda and Ahmedabad have been deputed in the six border districts.