Setting up more blood banks

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, Bangladesh needs between 1.0 and 1.1 million bags of blood every year. Voluntary organisations deliver around 30 per cent of the total demand while the rest comes from direct donations, it says. Donated blood is like a life-saver. However, many patients in Bangladesh are deprived of this service as they live in areas where there are no blood banks.

There are a number of upazilas which have a lack of a blood bank. Patients have to travel long distances to get their blood transfusion done. This not only takes time and money but could also prove deadly for those whose health conditions are too critical for travelling such distances. The government should establish at least one blood bank in every upazila at the earliest. As a stopgap arrangement, a mobile blood bank can also be established.

Md. Fajlay Rabbi,

Dashmina, Patuakhali,

[email protected]