BENGALURU: For a patient having to undergo a platelet transfusion in the city, there are several concerns. On one hand, platelets are not readily available at the time of need, while the other, it is an expensive affair.
Each Single Donor Platelet (SDP) unit in the city comes at a price of `11,000 in blood banks.
Although the department of health and family welfare has capped the price of a single unit of SDP at `11,000, not all private blood banks seem to be adhering to it. Some blood banks in the city charge between `11,000 and `13,000 for a single unit.
The high price is blamed on the price of the kit. “Each kit costs `7,000. Blood banks also add their operational costs. The process is also laborious, it takes at least one and a half hours. Hence, the high cost,” said an official from Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society.
SDP donation is regarded as the most effective transfusion with most doctors recommending it. However, in cases where patients can’t afford it, Random Donor Platelets (RDP) is recommended, said a source from a private blood bank.
In RDP, platelets are collected from various sources in small quantities and kept ready for immediate use at blood banks. “The risk is that a person is receiving blood from different donors pushing up the chances of a reaction to foreign bodies. Many a time, patients have no choice but to opt for this,” the source said.
When Express contacted blood banks across the city posing as the attendant of a patient at 5pm on Monday seeking platelets, most blood banks refused and said they would only be able to do the SDP apheresis (collection of platelets from a voluntary donor) as it was “late”.
An official of a blood bank near HAL said, “We don’t encourage immediate requests. It will only be possible by Tuesday evening.” The price quoted was `12,400-`13,000. Such was the case with other blood banks too. They refused to oblige even on saying that a donor was ready.