Kathmandu, July 30, The number of woman blood donors is very less in the country even at present. The wrong notion that one becomes physically weak by donating blood is behind the paltry number of woman blood donors as compared to the male donors.
Blood Transfusion Service Centre collected 55,953 unit blood in Fiscal Year 2018/19. Out of this, 46,405 unit was collected from male donors while 9,548 unit was collected from female donors. Blood collected from women donors comprises 17.07 per cent of the total blood collected in the one year period.
Centre chief Dr Manita Rajkarnikar said women’s understanding has increased regarding the importance of blood donation. “Awareness programmes should be further expanded,” she suggested.
The number of women blood and blood component donors out of the total collected throughout the country has reached 16 percent. A total 271 thousand 922 unit blood was collected throughout the country and 345,151 blood components were distributed.
The Centre operated by Nepal Red Cross Society has its units at 108 places in 73 districts across the country. According to the Centre, the trend of presence of HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis virus in the collected blood was declining. Out of the blood collected last year, HIV was detected in 113 cases, hepatitis B in 700 cases, hepatitis C in 424 cases and syphilis in 1220 numbers. The Centre has been brought into operation from July 27, 1966.
A total of 157 unit blood was collected in first year. Construction of a modern building of the Centre was underway at the same place after the Gorkha earthquake completely damaged the centre’s building at Exhibition Road.
The service is being provided from Balkumari-based Emergency Blood Transfusion Building and central office of Nepal Red Cross, Tahachal. Big hospitals, medical colleges and health institution have brought their own blood transfusion centre into operation keeping increasing demand of blood in mind.
