Bajura, May 2

Basanti Bista, 22, of Jagannath VDC-3, Bajura was admitted to Kolti Primary Health Centre after she experienced labour pain.

Four days later, Bista was referred to the District Hospital as she could not be treated at the health centre.

However, she had to struggle for her life for want of O positive blood at the district hospital.

Hospital staffers and her kin searched for blood for days, but to no avail. As Bista’s condition aggravated, gynaecologist Dr Rajan Neupane, of the parturition department at the hospital, donated his blood to save her life. Dr Neupane succeeded in saving Bista’s life, but he could not save the child.

Similarly, Sharada BK, 34, of Badimalika VDC-9 had to struggle at the hospital for two days when she was in labour pain.

Later, health worker donated blood and saved BK’s life.

Tek Bahadur Khadka, senior AHW at the hospital, said health workers had been donating their blood to save patients’ lives for a long time now. In addition to Dr Rajan, AHW Tek Bahadur Khadka, Family Planning Supervisor Durga Bajgain, ANM Gaumati Katwal have donated their blood to the patients.

Similarly, UNICEF’s Mina Thapa, BK Prasain, Nepali Army soldiers Ganesh Singh Thaguuna, Dabal Tamang, Badri Bahadur Upreti, Ram Krishna Nepali, Rupes Ale Magar have also donated blood to patients at the district hospital.

The lack of blood bank in the district has caused severe blood crunch in the various health facilities of the district.

Health workers said lack of awareness among locals about blood donation and inability on the part of the Red Cross Society to manage blood had led to blood shortage in the district.

Dr Mohan Nath, chief at the hospital, said they were facing difficulty in conducting emergency parturition service due to the blood crunch.