India is 35 tanker-trucks short of the blood it requires for medical procedures, yet some areas of the country wasted blood because there was too much of it, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of government data.
The shortage was estimated at 1.1 million units–as blood is measured, with a unit being either 350 ml or 450 ml–in 2015-16, the minister for health and family welfare told the Lok Sabha, parliament’s lower house, in July, 2016. We converted these data into tankers, assuming a standard tanker-truck of 11,000 lt and a 350 ml unit.
In percentage terms, India is 9% short of its needs–the shortage reducing from 17% in 2013-2014.
The 9% national shortfall hides local shortages and oversupply.
Bihar is 84% short of its blood requirements, more than any other state, followed by Chhattisgarh (66%) and Arunachal Pradesh (64%). Chandigarh had almost nine times the blood it needed, Delhi three times, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Mizoram, and Pondicherry twice, according to government data.
With no culture of blood donation, it isn’t always available where and when needed
India has 2,708 blood banks, but 81 districts still lack one, according to government data. Chhattisgarh has the most districts without a blood bank (11), followed by Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (9).
This article first appeared here, Feature image courtesy mirror.co.uk
