Pune blood banks facing shortage of supplies, scorching weather blamed

At least 40-50 blood units are required at Sassoon General Hospital on a daily basis, and the shortage has been felt for the past fortnight; anticipating a shortage, some hospitals organised blood donation camps ahead of summer.

3 min readPuneJun 1, 2024 08:54 PM IST

There are 37 blood bank centres in Pune and not less than 45,000-50,000 units of blood and blood components are required monthly. (File photo/ Representational)

Pune is facing considerable shortage of supplies at some of its blood bank centres, with even the government-run Sassoon General Hospital admitting that they need donors. Doctors attribute the reason to scorching weather conditions, colleges being closed for vacations, and an extended election season and are encouraging donors for walk-in voluntary blood donations.

There are 37 blood bank centres in Pune and not less than 45,000-50,000 units of blood and blood components are required monthly.

Dr Somnath Khedkar, in charge of Sassoon General Hospital’s blood bank centre, said they too have been facing a shortage in stocks. “Usually during summer months there is a shortage as people travel during holidays and colleges are shut,” Dr Khedkar said, adding that they have their list of voluntary blood donors and have reached out to them.

At least 40-50 blood units are required at Sassoon General Hospital on a daily basis, according to Dr Khedkar and the shortage has been felt for the past fortnight or so. “We have reached out to many voluntary blood donors,” Dr Khedkar said. When contacted Dr Chandrakant Mhaske, Dean, B J Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital said they would also organise blood donation camps.

Anticipating a shortage, some hospitals organised camps ahead of the summer season. “We conducted 18 blood donation camps in March,” Dr Poornima Rao, senior consultant at Sahyadri Group of Hospitals’ blood bank centre said.

She has appealed to work-from-home IT firm employees to donate. “Most companies still have employees who are working from home. Hence we are encouraging them to come out and donate,” Dr Rao said.

“On Friday there was a requirement of 120 blood component units. Among the patients who require the blood and blood components are those who are undergoing organ transplants or have haematology related disorders,” Dr Rao added.

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Dr Snehal Mujumdar, director, Transfusion Medicine, at Ruby Hall Clinic admits that there has been a shortage across some centres in the city. “However, we have tried our best to ensure that a stock out never happens. We have a minimum stock maintenance schedule and arrange blood donation camps before a stock out happens,” Dr Mujumdar said, adding that the requirement was around 80 to 120 blood component units.

“This means that one donor’s blood (350 or 450 ml) is separated into two to three blood components. Hence it can suffice the needs of two to three patients. For instance, patients suffering from anaemia would require red blood cells or those with dengue or viral infections need platelets. Hence in this manner we also try to judiciously utilise the whole blood unit,” the doctor explained, adding that they were conducting 7-15 blood donation camps every month.

According to Dr Sanjeev Ketkar, honorary consultant at Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital and research centre’s blood centre, whole blood for preparing components can be donated every three months (four times in a year by males and thrice by females). Anticipating that there would be a shortage, hospital authorities conducted 1,629 blood donation camps in April and had doctors, nurses and staff donating blood voluntarily to avoid shortages.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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