Keonjhar: The absence of a cryofuge machine at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in Keonjhar is leading to wastage of blood and causing difficulties for patients requiring plasma and serum.
Patients in need of such components are often referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack due to the lack of facilities at the local blood bank. The situation has become more concerning amid a shortage of blood, with collected units going to waste.
Sources said a cryofuge machine worth `75 lakh had earlier been procured for the blood bank at Keonjhar DHH to separate plasma, serum and other components from whole blood. However, due to inadequate infrastructure, the machine was sent to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur in 2020.
Despite improvements in infrastructure and management at the blood bank, a new machine has not been purchased nor has the old one been returned. As a result, patient care continues to be affected, with critically ill individuals being shifted to Cuttack for treatment.
Interestingly, Dharanidhar Medical College and Hospital in Keonjhar, which is yet to have a functional blood bank, has had two cryofuge machines since 2022, supplied by the District Mineral Foundation and the Odisha State Medical Corporation.
With delays in operationalising the blood bank there, locals have suggested that one of the machines be temporarily shifted to the DHH to benefit patients. Additionally, a blood separation machine procured years ago at the blood bank is now lying unused and is no longer functional.
This has further contributed to the wastage of blood, which could otherwise be processed into smaller units for multiple uses. Retired CDMO Dr Udayanath Barik said that making cryofuge facilities available locally would reduce the need to transfer patients to Cuttack.
Social worker Dilip Sahu also stressed the need for the machine, noting that the number of voluntary blood donors in the district is rising and proper utilisation of collected blood is essential. CDMO Dr Binod Bihari Mishra said the cryofuge machine had been sent to MKCG Medical College and Hospital due to infrastructure constraints, but with facilities now in place, a request has been made to bring it back.