November 2015, Vol 5, Issue 11

News and Updates from October 2015

Despite the festive season in October, many organisations came forth to plan blood donation drives. Sankalp organised 17 drives in October leading to a collection of more than 1350 units of blood. On a complications front, 3.4% of donors faced one sort of complication or the other. However, follow up was done with most of them and there is no reason for concern.

Health Ministry permits transfer of blood between Blood Banks

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has identified two major initiatives towards better utilisation of blood and blood components, as part of its commitment to ensure safe blood and enhanced access to blood products, on the recommendation of the National Blood Transfusion Council. The first step is permitting the transfer of blood from one blood bank to another.

Let there be Cure

Offering HLA typing far and wide We started on a journey traveling the length and breadth of the country in the month of October to reach out to families suffering from thalassemia who have never explored the option of cure. The prohibitive cost of HLA typing makes it out of reach for most families and thus the option of cure is also far from being explored.

Sundays @ Samraksha

Sundays have had a different meaning altogether for Project Samraksha, the Thalassemia Day Care Centre at Rashtroothhana Parishat. While the rest of the world enjoys their day off from work, the staff of the blood bank and the day care center put their best foot forward to work on their busiest day of the week.

Thalassemia and dropping out of school did not stop Jyoti from becoming an author

Submitted by souravroy on
Jyoti Arora is a resident of Ghaziabad. She suffers from thalassemia major. Thalassemia is a blood disorder characterized by abnormal formation of haemoglobin. This results in improper oxygen transport and destruction of red blood cells. This means that she has to undergo blood transfusions every three weeks. In a developing country like India, most thalassemia patients do not live to see an adult life. Due to irregularities in blood transfusion and iron accumulation in internal organs, they suffer from slow physical and mental growth. Jyoti’s story, however, is different.
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