As blood banks run dry, Bengal hospitals roll out ‘give blood, get Covid vaccine’ initiative

Under the initiative, anybody who donates blood can walk into a hospital tied up with the camp organizers after a minimum of three days and receive a vaccine shot.

With blood donations slowing to a trickle compared to times of normalcy in the state, hospitals and blood donation organizations in West Bengal have adopted a unique approach: donate blood and, in turn, be guaranteed a Covid-19 vaccination slot. “Since the pandemic started last year, all the private hospitals are facing a major shortage of blood; all our blood banks are almost dry now. This is mostly because during the pandemic time, we could not hold any blood donation camps,” said Rupak Barua, Group CEO, AMRI Hospitals. Moreover, since one cannot donate blood for 14 days after the first or second dose of the vaccine, donors became few and far between. Amid this crisis, the ‘give blood and get a jab’ initiative was undertaken by hospitals to encourage people to come out and donate blood, with the added incentive of vaccines aiming to dispel apprehensions about visiting hospitals during Covid times.