Blood banks in Karnataka have been facing a severe shortage of life-saving blood for the last two months. While the shortage is noticed during every summer vacation, the ongoing elections and unprecedented heatwave conditions have made the situation worse.
While most of the 43 government-run banks are able to manage through donations by their regular walk-in donors, several of the 217 private blood banks are not able to meet even 50% of the demand as their supply mainly depends on voluntary blood donation camps.
Ever since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha polls came into force on March 16, hardly any blood donation camps have been conducted. While educational institutions, where camps are usually held, are closed for the summer vacation, even those who want to donate are not keen due to the severe heatwave conditions.
