Blood Bank requests for donors

By Indika Sri Aravinda   

Even with the spread of the coronavirus, the National Blood Transfusion Centre has blood resources in the country for just four days, says Dr. Lakshman Edirisinghe, Director of the National Blood Transfusion Centre.   

Due to the government’s decision to ban public gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the rapid decline in blood donation has led to the disruption of mobile 
blood camps.   

On average, between 1,500 and 2,000 pints of blood were donated to the National Blood Transfusion Centre and major hospitals, which resulted in a drop of 50 pints per day.   
Dr. Lakshman Edirisinghe points out that between 150-200 pints of blood per day are provided to the Maharagama Hope Hospital, the Borella Children’s Hospital and 
other hospitals.   

Due to the rapid decline in blood donation, the National Blood Transfusion Centre requests the public to donate blood under three main reasons as the existing blood pool is available for only 4 days.   

 Blood transfusion donations can be made to 15 major hospitals in the North including Ragama, Colombo North, Kalubowila Hospital, Karapitiya, Kamburugamuwa, Kurunegala, Jaffna, Ampara, Kandy, Chilaw and Puttalam.   

Your blood donation is an essential moment, as the blood is an essential ingredient that cannot be synthesised, says Dr. Lakshman Edirisinghe, Director of the National Blood 
Transfusion Centre.   

Contact the National Blood Centre, Narahenpita, to make an appointment to donate blood without any congestion or crowds.