Uptick in dengue cases pushes up demand for platelets in Bengaluru

Blood banks in Bengaluru face increased demand for platelets, especially for dengue patients, but no shortage reported.

Following an uptick in the number of dengue cases in Bengaluru, blood banks are seeing an increase in demand for platelets in Bengaluru. Although there is no shortage of this vital blood transfusion component as of now, the demand has gone up, said all the banks The Hindu spoke to.

Most blood banks in Bengaluru are facing a demand of at least 30 random donor platelet (RDP) units a day, as against an average of around 20 a day otherwise. The requirement of single donor platelet (SDP) units — required for critical patients — has also gone up from two or three to seven or eight per day.

T.N. Ravi Kumar, Director of Red Cross Blood Bank Sub-Committee, said the demand for SDP is high in Red Cross Society’s blood banks. “It has gone up from 30 a day till last month to over 45 now, a majority of which is for dengue patients. While we are able to meet the demand for RDP as we have fresh frozen plasma stock collected through organised blood donation camps, for SDP, we need to draw as and when there is a requirement,” he said.

“As platelets have a maximum shelf life of five days, laboratories usually process the blood only when required. But, in the current situation, labs are processing blood as and when it is collected to reduce the wait time. Platelets have to be processed within six hours of drawing blood,” he said.

Narasimhaswamy L., Medical Officer at Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre, said although the demand for platelets has increased, there is no shortage of the vital blood transfusion component now as voluntary donations through camps that were not happening in the last three months (due to elections and summer vacation) have resumed. “The demand for platelets has gone up by nearly 30% in our Blood Centre,” he said.

Other blood banks are also facing a similar situation. Abdul Rehman Shariff, Managing Trustee of Jeevaraksha Blood Centre, said the demand for platelets has gone up considerably in the last two weeks. Manoj Kumar, Managing Trustee of Lions Blood Bank at Vijayanagar, said despite the rise in demand, the situation is manageable as of now. 

Shivram C., Consultant in Transfusion Medicine at Manipal Hospitals (Old Airport Road), who has noted a 25% increase in platelet use in the last two weeks, said as per guidelines, platelet transfusion is required only when the patient’s count goes below 10,000 per microlitre, or if the patient has bleeding through the mucous membranes such as mouth, nose and through urine and motion.