Monday, September 05, 2016

Information on blood donation (with a focus on Bangalore)




In the hustle of daily life, can we make time for the humanistic activity of blood donation. Like voting, its a duty of every citizen. 
Here are some resources that help in donating and receiving blood. If you can add to the information here to make it more comprehensive and useful, please leave a comment 


For finding blood when someone is is need:

1.) Call this number 94800 44444 where they know the blood availability situation at blood banks in most areas of Karnataka and can tell you if there is a nearby bank that can supply your need. 
The facility is run by Sankalp Foundation sankalpfoundation.org  and Comprehensive Trauma Consortium 

2.) Check the following donor databases: 

For donating blood:

1.) See the useful primer at Citizen Matters http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/blood-donation-faq-guide on eligibility to donate etc. 


2.) Register at the same databases above 


3.) This Google map view shows some of the blood banks in Bangalore, and can help you find one near you



4.) Serial blood donor Rudresh Kalyani (www.facebooks.com/rudresh.kalyani) says its very simple to donate, nearly every area of Bangalore has a hospital and/or a blood bank that accepts blood. 


5.)From a quick web search I could find only one hospital that had a webpage for those who want to donate blood at the hospital:




General information about blood donation:


India still has a blood shortage, though hearteningly it seems to be quickly coming down (from 17% in 2013-14 to 9% in 2016). However there is a lot of variation geographically - some areas have an excess and some areas have a severe deficiency. Of course rural areas have a much bigger problem than urban areas. The law says that paid blood donations are not allowed, but in practice this still seems to happen. Some articles:

No comments: