donate blood 28 days after receiving two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine; or if they do not receive the second dose, can donate 28 days after the first dose. Due to the fact that the majority of blood donors in Kerala are aged between 20 and 35, the officials say that blood banks and the state are expecting a shortage of blood in the coming months.
Dr SM Balagobalam, Medical Officer at the Indian Medical Association’s Blood Bank Complex and Research Center, said that the ongoing vaccination drive may further increase the shortage of blood. He said: “Since the past year, there has been a dip in blood donation. Usually, in Kerala, the majority of voluntary blood donations happens through the outreach camps held by various associations and groups. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, such camps could not be organized, causing a dip in blood donation”.
Dr R Ramesh, Project Director of Kerala Aids Control Society, which supervises the Blood Safety Division of Kerala, advised to donate blood before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. He said: “It is not just the COVID-19 vaccine but whatever vaccination a person takes, there should be a gap of 28 days before donating blood. Since the number of people in the age group of 18-45 is above one crore, we know it will not be possible for everyone to get vaccinated at the same time”.
The experts say that there are numerous reasons behind why the vaccinated donors are asked to wait for 28 days before donating blood. Dr Ramesh said: “One of the common reasons is that there is a possibility that persons who recently received a live-attenuated vaccine may have infectious agents in their blood, which could be risky if donated to immunosuppressed persons”. Covishield and MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccines, for example, use a live but weakened form of the virus.
Dr Ramesh explained how the pandemic impacted blood donation. He said, “People are apprehensive about coming to blood camps or to in-house facilities (blood banks) due to the fear of safety during a pandemic. So even though we have not faced a major shortage of blood yet, if this COVID-19 surge continues, there can be a serious deficit of blood in the state. We are therefore not taking any chances.”
General Secretary of Blood Donors Kerala, a well-known blood donor group in the state, Sanal Lal, said: “The major chunk of voluntary blood donation in Kerala happens through educational institutions. However, since colleges remained shut in the past year, almost no camps were held in the past year in Kerala.” The officials stated that the main reason why the state is not experiencing a serious blood shortage during the pandemic is that there are less planned surgeries and less road accidents.
According to the National Aids Control Organization’s directives, officials have begun a program encouraging people to donate blood in-house rather than via blood banks a few days before receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Small-scale blood donation camps may also be operated with all COVID-19 safety precautions. Blood Donors Kerala and other organizations have begun to organize small-scale night blood donation camps in the state’s northern districts. Sanal Lal said that in the midst of the vaccination campaign, the organization has launched a campaign to raise in-house blood donations in the coming days.
