DHAKA, Sept 21 (NNN-BSS) – Blood banks, based in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, are currently scrambling to refill their stocking shelves with bags of platelets. The need for blood donations, therefore, has heightened intensely and sometimes to a desperate level, as dengue patients are involved.
Bangladesh saw a significant spike in dengue fever cases over recent months, with 15,976 cases and 59 deaths, from the mosquito-borne disease registered so far this year, according to the country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Against the backdrops, Dhaka’s blood banks are facing a huge rush of blood use by dengue patients with critically low platelet counts. Inside a major blood bank in Dhaka recently, many people were seen waiting with doctors’ prescriptions, for platelet transfusion for their patients.
In addition, medical workers were seen extremely busy dealing with blood collection from donors and testing samples.
Last Sunday, some of Dhaka’s major public hospitals were found flooded with sick dengue fever patients.
By region, Dhaka and its neighbouring districts are still deemed as more vulnerable to the risk of mosquito-borne diseases, according to the DGHS.
“I have a patient here at Dhaka Medical (Dhaka Medical College and Hospital). I’ve come to donate blood for him,” Md Sajjad Hossain Shaon, from Narayanganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka, said, while waiting outside a blood bank for his turn to come.
Another blood donar, who called himself Rizvi said, three of his close relatives are currently suffering from dengue and that they are rushed to the hospital for treatment.
A dengue patient may need three to six bags of blood, according to doctors.
Ashraful Haque, an assistant professor in the Department of Blood Transmission, at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (SHNIBPS), said that, as the dengue season is going on, “people are being affected at a massive rate.”
He added, the infected people have to take a variety of medications, due to COVID-19.
This actually causes a lot of blood related problems, he said, noting that the COVID-19 infection could be among the causes of blood clotting or not clotting.
“Such complications are increasing among post-COVID patients. Due to the increase in complications, the demand for blood increased tremendously, but we are not getting enough blood donors as compared to that soaring demand,” Haque said, as his blood bank was crowded with people to donate their blood for known and unknown patients.
Latest data showed 275 fresh dengue cases, including 211 in Dhaka, were reported in the country in the past 24 hours, till 8:00 a.m. local time yesterday.– NNN-BSS