Strengthening India’s Blood Transfusion System
By Suryaprabha Sadasivan and Dr. Kirit P Solanki (Member of Parliament)
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, India successfully created a world record by encouraging more than 2.5 lakh people to donate blood as part of the fortnight-long ‘Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav,’ which began on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday last month and concluded on 1st October 2022, on National Voluntary Blood Donation Day.
This is an eventful moment as, amidst all the conversations about the country’s healthcare priorities, voluntary blood donation has taken center stage for the first time. In a country like India, with a shortfall of 1.9 million units of blood annually, as per official data from 2016-17, this commitment to streamlining voluntary blood donation is a much-needed initiative.
The cruciality of blood in any health system cannot be undermined, especially in a country like India where blood sufficiency and timely access for post-partum hemorrhage, emergency surgeries, cancer treatment, and hereditary disorders like thalassemia and hemophilia has been a huge challenge.
