It was all being reported for several months. Due to the implementation of social distancing, cancellation of various blood drives and low donor turnout thanks to fear of getting infected, the pool of supply of blood was drying up all over India. By the end of the first wave in last October-November, hospitals in almost all states and union territories were struggling to meet the daily requirements of blood.
The situation improved as the infection situation eased out to some extent. But now with the second wave raging over many states, the source of blood has hit the lowest point.
According to doctors associated with various hospitals, blood required for emergencies, surgeries or even for the patients suffering from thalassemia or sickle-cell disease are not available to the required quantity. So, after medicine and oxygen, now it is the turn of blood to throw the market open to the black marketers.
While the blood banks are facing a tough time, some ‘blood service providers have popped out in many places. According to sources, several such providers are active in and around Kolkata. They have come up to fleece and is charging Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 per unit of blood. Similar incidents have been reported from various other states too. If one buys from the state-owned banks in Bengal, the cost of a unit is Rs 1050. The private blood banks charge Rs 1450 a unit.
The question is wherefrom they are getting the supply of blood. In 1998, Supreme Court banned the selling of blood for money. Some activists who regularly arrange blood donation camps fear now professional donors are back. But it can also be so that these black marketers are collecting blood both from blood banks and professional donors.
“If the gap between what you buy and what you sell is of three thousand rupees per unit, you can bribe the employees of a blood bank too,” points out Subhro Banerjee, who arranges blood donation camps in North Kolkata regularly. He concedes that the donation camps that earlier drew many voluntary donors are failing to attract people nowadays, and that is at the root of the shortage of blood. But he does not see any way out of the present situation.
(The author Diptendra Raychaudhuri is a senior journalist based in Kolkata. He has a wide range of experience in covering West Bengal politics and has authored).