Bathinda, October 24
With increasing number of dengue cases in Bathinda, private blood banks in the city are minting money. Even as a year has elapsed since the infamous HIV-positive blood transfusion fiasco, there is a huge trust deficit among people, who are finding it difficult to get blood transfusion done at the blood bank unit of the Civil Hospital here.
Notably, five patients, including children and a woman, were transfused with HIV-positive blood at the Civil Hospital’s unit.
Sources said while majority of the dengue patients (family members) are apprehensive and do not want to avail services or get blood transfusion done at the government hospital, it is the private laboratories that have been minting money. Private labs are charging Rs 5,000 to Rs 12,000 for a single unit of blood. More than 1,700 cases of dengue have been reported in the district this season so far.
Sources added that patients from low socio-income groups, who are coming for treatment at the government hospital, are facing difficulty in arranging blood as they do not want to undergo blood transfusion at the Civil Hospital but at the same time cannot afford it at private labs that are selling it at exorbitant prices. The family members of such patients are running from pillar to post to arrange blood. As a number of residents have been suffering with dengue and seasonal viral, there is an acute shortage of donors these days.
Akhtar Hussain, a patient’s kin, said they did not want to get the blood transfusion done at the government hospital but also could not afford to buy it from private labs.
Meanwhile, Civil Hospital blood bank unit incharge Dr Ritika said, “We have 224 units of blood and been providing it to patients.” — TNS
Amid trust deficit, pvt labs minting money
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