“Up to 60 percent patients receiving blood from our hospital have contracted jaundice,” head of the Pathology Department of BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital Shree Pun said. Around 20 persons receive blood every day in the hospital. [break]
The problem was detected among patients who have received blood following surgery. “This kind of problem can occur in one out of 1,000 patients receiving blood. But the rate here is very high,” physician at Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital Dr Shital Adhikari said.
The Bharatpur Blood Bank, run by Chitwan Red Cross, claimed that the problem occurred due to inability of the hospitals to store blood properly.
“We have preserved blood safely and there is nothing wrong with the blood we supplied. The hospitals might not have maintained appropriate temperature to store blood,” chief of the blood bank Ramesh Poudel claimed.
Poudel said the blood should be stored between temperatures of 2-8 degree Centigrade. “But we have found that many hospitals don´t have refrigerators to maintain appropriate temperature,” Poudel added. “The problem has occurred due to transfusion of too cold or warm blood,” pathologist Pun concurred.
Pun said the blood gets damaged due to temperature variations with platelets staying on top and blood cells deposited at the bottom of the bags. “The platelets of safe blood are yellowish while those of damaged is totally red. We have directed the hospitals to not use such blood,” Pun added.
Blood Bank chief Poudel went further and accused the doctors of negligence. “Patients have to be given blood under observation of a doctor as per the directives of the World Health Organization. But nurses are doing the job,” Poudel said.
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