Let us see what December had in store for us at Sankalp.
Emergency Wing
With most of the request getting handled at the Disha helpline, the emergency team handled 26 emergency requests this month out of which 14 were for negative groups. Interestingly, more half of these requests were from outside Bangalore.
Although blood donation is a safe and well established procedure, certain blood donors face an adverse reaction either during or post donation. The severity of such reactions varies from person to person. However, a general pattern of the nature can be drawn. Such reactions may discourage these donors from donating again.
Internet and social media is touching all areas of life. How could blood banking remain untouched. Numerous blood donor registries have mushroomed with claims to provide easy access to blood donors at the time of need. Fancy solutions making intelligent use of social media and vicinity based search have been in the news. Promoted by individuals coming from prestigious academic institutions and decorated by national and international awards and recognitions, these solutions appear promising.
The Thalassemia International Federation(T.I.F.) in association with Federation of India Thalassemiacs(F.I.T.) organised a workshop on 17-18 December 2013 in New Delhi. The workshop was aimed at capacity building the patients/parents support groups and help the groups in India formulate a clear strategy towards improving and supporting national and state efforts for better control of thalassaemia. Representatives of 7 states namely Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra attended the workshop.
Last month total of 13 Bombay blood group requests for 16 units. 2 units were found available off the shelf while 7 donations happened. Other units managed by systematic planning and use of alternatives to blood transfusion therapy.