Last month we cross the 1000 mark for the number of blood units being transfused to patients suffering from thalassemia across the state of Karnataka. We must congratulate Rashtrotthana Blood Bank- Bangalore, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health-Bangalore and K L E Society Hospital and Medical Research Centre Blood bank for ensuring continued supply of safe and voluntarily donated blood for each of our patients completely free of cost.
We are celebrating the massive contribution of voluntary blood donors, organisations and blood banks together to make sufficient blood available free of cost to thalassemia patients, inline with the national policy. We are proud of the fact that no child undertaking treatment at any of our centers needs to arrange for blood. When they come on the appointed date, the blood products are already available.
However, in the same breath we must mention that not all blood banks are following the laid out policy. While some resort to charging thalassemia patients for blood up-front, refusing to accept the evidence of the child suffering from thalassemia, the others use more underhand and covert means of levying processing charges of all sorts like cross-match change, NAT charge etc. to recover the money from the thalassemia patients.
As the milestone is reached, the road ahead demands more blood donors, more blood banks and more centers goving proper care for thalassemia.