Indian Express
18 October 2010
By Amrita Chaudhry
Ludhiana, India

Till Sunday, we had some 345 confirmed cases of dengue in the city. There is no need to panic for not every dengue patient needs transfusion. This is a kind of viral fever and transfusion is done when the blood count goes below 30,000. Those who have fever can take paracetamol tablets, B complex capsules and lots of fluid. But they should report to the nearest hospital and get themselves checked. We at the Civil Hospital do not charge for dengue tests SATWANT KAUR Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana Those keen to donate blood can contact Sooraj Sharma at 9872378787

WITH a steady rise in the number of dengue patients admitted to various hospitals in the city, the demand for fresh blood is also rising and the situation according to those helping has reached a point of shortage of blood units. While the exact figure of dengue patients is yet to be ascertained for there are many cases still in diagnosis stage, a rough estimate points towards the 2,000mark.

Sooraj Sharma of Salaam Zindagi, an NGO which is working hard to ensure that the blood supply demand is met, said, "The majority of patients have been admitted to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital for it has four blood platelet separator machines–unlike Christian Medical College, Civil Hospi tal, Oswal hospital and Apollo Hospital which have one each.

The DMC alone probably has around 1,100 patients. There s was a slight fall in the number f of dengue patients coming in which has risen once again." l When contacted, Ludhiana civil surgeon Satwant Kaur t Bhalla informed, "Till Sunday we had some 345 confirmed v cases of dengue in the city.

The main issue is that there is no need to panic for not every dengue patient needs transfusion. This is a kind of viral fever and transfusion is given when the blood count falls below 30,000. For people who have fever, all we can say is that they can take paracetamol tablets, some B complex vitamin and lots of fluid. But they should get themselves in vestigated. They should report to the nearest hospital and get themselves checked. We at the Civil Hospital do not charge for dengue tests; so people should not shy away from this test at all."

Sharma added, "The situation is acute for we are facing a problem getting donors. Till the time we have already supplied 135 units of SDP while the count of RDP is even higher; it must be around 300."

He, however, rued the fact, "Residents of this city do not come forward for donating blood. Even at times like the present, when the situation is so grim, people tend to bargain. We have had some cases where people demand blood in exchange for blood and even if we assure and promise them that their patient would get blood when needed, they are not ready to come forward at all.

" Hasmeet Singh, who heads the Radical Youth Association, has appealed to the "youth of this city not to think twice and come forward to save lives. Blood transfusion is the one and only way to save the lives of dengue patients and boys and girls from colleges should come forward and donate blood. The least that these boys and girls can do is to get themselves registered at hospitals and clinics as blood donors so that whenever needed, they can be contacted immediately."

Meanwhile, those keen to donate blood can contact Sooraj Sharma at 9872378787.