The
NSS Units of the PG Council in collaboration with the Patanjali Yoga Samiti, Balaosre have organized a Blood Donation Camp the I&CT Building of the FM University
on 24th August 2013. The Camp was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Vice
Chancellor of the University and was organized under the direct supervisor of
the PG Council Chair Person Prof Geetanjali Dash. Prof Sabyasachi Pattnaik, Dr. M.C. Adhikary, Dr. SK Agrawalla, Dr. BB Mahapatra, Mr. Manoj Rout, Mr. NN Dhal and other faculty and staff members have visited the Camp and encouraged the donors. Hon'bel Vice Chancellor pointed out that we the Indians believe in the concept of "Vasudheiba Kutumbakam - the entire globe is a single family" and therefore by donating blood one helps the well being of their own family only. Addressing to the doubts of the of the students and donors, Dr. H. Biswal, the head of the Balasore Blood Bank clarified various misconceptions those are persistent in the minds of people. Some of the important points from his talk are appended at the bottom this page. Student Volunteers
Devi Prasad Parija, Subhasish Panda, Goutam Das, Neelamadhaba Panigrahi of 3rd
semester MCA and Ms. Karubakt Singh, Abhilipsa Mahapatra, Pallavi Mahapatra,
Bhabani Shankar Jena, Sudhansu Sekhar Jena, Aswini Pattnaik of 1st
semester MCA have participated and
assisted the organizers/ blood
donors during the Camp.
Misconception 1. Blood can be preserved for several months.
Dr. Biswal: It's not true. After Collection it need to be used within a month.Q.1. Blood Banks Collect lots of blood through Blood Donation Camps but still during theirs need people don't get blood in the Blood Banks. So what happens to all those blood units collected during the camps?
Dr. Biswal: In Balasore Dist itself, there are about 300 thalassemia (a kind of a blood disorder passed down through families (inherited) in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The disorder results in excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to anemia.)patients who need regular blood transfusion for their survival (at a rate of one/two units per patient per month). So a total of 500 units are given to these patients every month. In additions to these another 500 units are consumed by the delivery patients as well as accident patients. Therefore, in Balasore dist only the monthly consumption rate is around 1000 units!
- Blood Camps provides only a PART OF THIS requirement.
- Blood Banks run short of Blood during Apr-July every year as during this period Schools/ Colleges remain closed and no camp is conducted.
Dr. Biswal: Very few packets are wasted out for detection of +ve cases of HIV/ Malaria etc otherwise most of the collected units are used.
Q.2. Blood Banks Collect free of cost though blood through Blood Donation Camps but they charge money from the patients to provide it them, why?
Dr. Biswal: The amount charged per packet is nominal and is spent on various checks those are performed on the collected bloods.
Misconception 3. Blood with traces of alcohol in it is destroyed.
Dr. Biswal: Not true. A little amount of alcohol that is sometimes found in some collected packets of blood does not make that packet unusable. Many medicines (cough syrups etc) have alcohol content and alcohol is used as a preservative.
