Jaipur: The Rajasthan govt has ordered all state-run and private blood centres to provide blood and blood components to pregnant women without insisting on replacement donors – a policy shift aimed at preventing delays in obstetric emergencies and reducing maternal deaths linked to blood shortage.The order was issued on July 23 by the Rajasthan State Blood Transfusion Council.“The exemption will apply to women receiving antenatal care at govt hospitals, pregnant women suffering from anaemia and women admitted for delivery who require transfusion support,” a senior official in the health department said.Until now, the no-replacement benefit was largely limited to patients with thalassaemia, sickle cell disease, trauma cases and girls below 14 years of age. The govt’s latest order brings all maternity cases in govt hospitals, especially those involving severe anaemia and emergency delivery-related complications, under the no-replacement category.The decision follows the deaths of 19 women across five districts since May, most of them involving post-caesarean complications.Officials investigating the circumstances surrounding these and other cases found that delays in arranging blood or replacement donors can prove fatal in cases of pregnant women with certain medical conditions.Officials found that the practice of asking patients’ families to arrange replacement donors before blood is issued for transfusion can delay urgent care for pregnant women with haemorrhage or severe anaemia, and those undergoing complicated labour.Authorities in the health department estimate that pregnant women in the state require around one lakh units of blood every year, with the latest order expected to increase pressure on blood banks that have traditionally depended on replacement donations to replenish their stocks of blood and components such as red cells, platelets and plasma.With that in mind, the department has instructed blood centres to intensify voluntary donation drives and strengthen donor networks.Officers and staff at blood centres have been directed to maximise donations by coordinating with voluntary organisations, individual donors, NGOs, colleges and community groups and organising more blood donation camps.The order also calls for the preparation of rare blood group donor lists to enable rapid contact during emergencies, officials added.
