October 1 was National Voluntary Blood Donation Day. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare organised a massive drive- #RaktdaanAmritMahotsav- starting from September 17 - which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday all the way up to October 1. The Ministry claimed that they collected a record number of blood units- about 1.68 lakhs in a single day.

But how do blood centres cope for the rest of the year? There are 3932 blood banks in the country for more than 700 districts, as per the latest records. Suno India’s Menaka Rao spoke to Dr Joy Mammen to understand the universe of blood banking and transfusions. Dr Mammen is head of transfusion medicine at Christian Medical College, Vellore. Dr Mammen led a major study commissioned by the National Blood Transfusion Council on the clinical demand of blood in the country. 

References

World record created on Day 1 of ‘Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav’, Mandaviya tweets | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
Common Cause vs Union Of India And Others on 4 January, 1996
National Blood Policy
The_clinical_demand_and_supply_of_blood_in_India:_A_National_level_estimation_study
Repeat voluntary non-remunerated blood donor is the best quality indicator for blood safety

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