This article highlights an important aspect of planning that must be incorporated by all blood banks to prevent acute shortage of blood in summer season.

This month when we send the newsletter most of us in Karnataka have a relatively comfortable situation when it comes to blood stocks. Last week, there was a blood bank in Bangalore willing to spare a couple of 100 units of blood to blood banks who might have lower stocks and they found no takers. Good stocks, frequent camps and reasonably full blood shelves.

Replacement for blood is just refusing to go away.. and now it has started affecting voluntary blood donation as well!

A person got his father admitted in a reputed hospital for a cardiac surgery. He was told that 5 blood donors were required to be brought in before the surgery. When he went back to his office he realised that most of his friends had donated blood a week back since the company had organised a large blood donation drive where 400 units were collected across all offices.

ByManjari Mishra, TNN | Mar 14, 2013, 04.25 AM IST

MANDLA/JABALPUR: Tribals in Kundam, a settlement 40 km off Jabalpur, call it a black demon, one who strikes select families and ensures an early and agonizing death by sucking its victims white.

For once, medical experts couldn't agree more with this home spun wisdom that aptly describes sickle cell - an incurable genetic disorder which damages vital organs like liver, kidney, heart and spleen. The disease manifest at the school going age and patient rarely reaches adulthood.

ISBTI Karnataka organised the annual CME at VIMS Bellary on 23-34 February 2013. Sankalp India Foundation was invited to give a talk on "Our Experience With Bombay Blood Group". The CME coincided with the first ever international transfer of Bombay Blood Group organised by the organisation. The CME gave the organisation an opportunity to share with the blood banking community of Karnataka, the work done, the essential learning and the roadmap to take care of Bombay Blood Group need in specific and rare blood groups in general.

Blood Donation Drives

We conducted 6 blood donation drives in the month, collecting 748 units of blood.

ITPB
In the first week of Jan, the blood stocks were low in the city. Due to new year's eve, companies were not organizing blood drives. ITPB is one of the organizations whom we can bank upon in such crisis situations. And it came to rescue by organizing blood camp in a blood mobile for the first time. 

Though the stories of achievement and growth have their exceptional charm - sometimes the story of mere survival itself looks interesting enough to be shared. Here we share with you the roller coaster ride we had managing the Day Care Centre for thalassemia.