Pokhara, May 12

Pokhara is facing an acute shortage of blood for transfusion, prompting the Nepal Red Cross Society and the Blood Transfusion Centre to call on the public for emergency blood donation.

As per sources at the Blood Transfusion Centre in Pokhara, blood groups AB, A, B positive, and O are in short supply.

“With most organisations that were usually involved in running blood donation drives busy with the election, there have been no blood donation programmes recently, resulting into the crisis,” said Nepal Red Cross Society Treasurer and Coordinator of the Regional Blood Transfusion Centre Pokhara Dharma Adhikari, urging blood donors to directly contact the transfusion centre to oblige.

“Anyone willing to donate blood can contact the transfusion centre either in the morning or evening, except on the day of election,” Adhikari added. “Usually, the centre has a stock of over 300 units of blood on a daily basis, but now we have 200 units, which is worrying,” said In-charge of Blood Transfusion Centre Dhrub Mohan Lamichhane.

In view of the crisis, 80 units of blood was collected through an emergency blood donation programme in Mahendrapul, Chipledhunga yesterday, which was followed by yet another blood donation programme at Prithvichowk today, where 62 more units of blood was collected.

Similarly, a blood donation programme has also been scheduled at Manipal Hospital in the evening.

While Pokhara has a demand of 80 units of blood daily usually, the demand could go up during the elections, which has worried stakeholders.