KARIMNAGAR: Thalassemia patients, who need blood transfusion at least once a week, were having a tough time getting blood amid the novel Coronavirus outbreak as there was a slump in donors.
Usually, Pratima Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Indian Red Cross Society give blood units free of cost.
However, due to the Covid-19 panic, donors were not coming forward to donate blood, which was posing a critical situation for Thalassemia patients.
The stock at government hospital blood banks was being used for regular patients.
There are about 150 Thalassemia patients, who need regular blood transfusion to survive, in the erstwhile Karimnagar district, sources said.
Indian Red Cross Society district secretary Vutukkuri Radhakrishna Reddy said it was difficult to motivate people to donate blood in the last one month because they are scared of contracting Covid-19. But, somehow the society collected about four units.
In order to spread awareness about the importance of blood donation, Reddy made his two sons donate blood for Thalassemia patients.
Critical Thalassemia patients need blood transfusion every day, while some need it every 10 days or 15 days.
Unlike other patients, Thalassemia patients require whole blood. Indian Red Cross Society representatives requested people to save the lives of Thalassemia patients.