JNIMS charges Rs 1700 per unit of blood !
Blood donation rendered meaningless
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 15 2012:
With the hospital management society charging Rs 1700 per unit of blood from JNIMS patients who are in need of blood, the noble practice of voluntary blood donation has been rendered meaningless in the hospital.
A reliable source informed that one individual living with HIV who was on ART drugs was taken to a private hospital as his health condition deteriorated.
In spite of taking ART drugs, the patient was coughing continually.
Subsequently, his blood was tested and it turned out that he was infected with TB.
On account of the infection, the doctor prescribed two units of blood for transfusion.
Together with two donors, family members of the patient went to JNIMS to take two units of blood.
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After taking two units of blood from the two donors, the family members were given two units of blood from their blood bank in exchange.
But they were also charged Rs 1700 each for the two units of blood.
After transfusion of the two units of blood, the patient needed transfusion of more blood.
But the family cannot not afford to buy any more units of blood from JNIMS.
Earlier, only Rs 350 were charged for exchange of one blood unit donated by donor with the blood unit available in the blood bank of JNIMS.
This sum of Rs 350 was for testing blood (of the donor) and meeting expenses on blood bottles.
Whereas live saving blood is not available in the markets, it is donated by volunteers on World AIDS Day, Independence Day, Patriots Day and on other red letter days and occasions.
As there is no means to manufacture blood artificially, the only means is donation by healthy families and transfusion of the same to patients who are in desperate need of blood.
But the hospital authority has turned blood donation and exchange of blood as some sort of business enterprise, and it certainly evokes a serious question if any people would be willing to donate blood after knowing how the donated blood has been commercialised.