BAJURA, July 29

Shortage of blood has hit emergency parturition service hard in various districts of the far-west.

Parsuram Shrestha, Director of far-west Regional Health Directorate, said that emergency parturition service in six hilly districts except Kailali and Kanchanpur have been affected owing to blood crunch.

“Lack of blood bank is causing the blood crunch in remote districts,” Shrestha said, adding, “Bajura, Baitadi, Bajhang and Achham are among the districts most hit by the blood crunch”.

Dr Gunaraj Awasthi, chief at Baitadi District Health Office, said that they had to refer at least two patients outside the district for want of blood. According to doctors, 85 per cent women produce babies naturally; fifteen per cent women encounter difficulty. Of them, five per cent women require blood.

Health workers said they sometimes manage blood with the help of police and army personnel for emergency parturition services. Dr Awasthi said of the 60 women operated in the hospital, the army had donated blood for 48.

Shrestha, complained that it was difficult to set up emergency delivery service in far-flung area. Managing blood is even more difficult, said Shrestha. Bajhang, Bajura and Baitadi do not have blood banks. Even those districts having blood bank lack blood.

Senior Health Worker Tek Bahadur Khadka at district health office, Baitadi, said health workers were forced to donate blood during emergency. “Locals don’t want to donate blood due to lack of awareness,” Khadka said.

Many women lose their lives owing to delay in delivery service every year. As many as 38 women died last year while the number stood at 80 the previous year.