On May 31, 30-year-old R Manikandan from Thanjavur was scrambling to find an AB-positive blood donor for his friend’s wife who was undergoing treatment at a private hospital for cancer. After hours of efforts, a man claimed to be from Tiruchy promised to donate blood but demanded Rs 3,000 for travel and other expenses. In his desperation, Manikandan transferred Rs 1,000 and promised to pay the remaining later. But the man never turned up and he also blocked Manikandan’s number. The patient, who was in the final stages of cancer, died the next day.
This is the latest in a series of increasing incidents in which fraudsters have cheated friends and family of patients who are in a desperate situation for blood. Voluntary blood donors allege that this kind of fraud is on the rise across the state, but the police fail to take any action despite multiple complaints.
According to sources, the fraudsters contact the family of the patient in need of blood with an offer to donate blood and then demand `conveyance’ for their travel. They source the contact numbers of attendants from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms when a request is posted. Once the family transfers the money, they disappear. In light of such scams increasing by the day, the organisations involved in blood donation have demanded legal action against such fraudsters.
Hospitals usually ask blood as a replacement for the units they used from the blood bank and the voluntary blood donation programme guidelines state that small tokens of appreciation like refreshments and reimbursement of travel costs are compatible with voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation. "But in these cases, the fraudsters are not turning up for donations and are cheating money off desperate attendants who seek help in medical emergencies," said Srivatsav Vema, a member of the Platelet Club.
"Even in 2022, a complaint was filed with the cybercrime wing of the police, and they requested a written complaint, a bank statement, and online money transfer records. Everything was submitted, but no action was taken," he said. Srivatsav and other voluntary blood donors urged the government to enact a separate blood donation law to curb such cases.
In another incident, a social worker shared her recent experience on how a person used an emergency situation to dupe a family. On May 23, a 13-year-old girl who was diagnosed with blood cancer needed AB positive blood. Her family was searching for a suitable blood donor and shared the request on WhatsApp groups. They received a call from a person who said he can donate blood, and requested money for travel expenditure. After the money was transferred, he again sought additional funds. The next morning, he again called the child’s mother and requested to transfer another Rs 1,000 and the mother did so, said Deborah Anbarasi, a social worker at the Government Institute of Child Health, Egmore.
"The child was vomiting blood the next day and the mother was agitated and restless, so she immediately transferred the money without thinking about anything. Then the man switched off the phone and disappeared. The family then found a donor within their family and the need was met," added Deborah Anbarasi.
Sharing her experience, a 45-year-old woman in Chennai said her family was duped by one such group a couple of years ago.
"My mother-in-law was struggling with cancer and she required blood for surgery. As her blood group was the rare Bombay blood group, we were desperately looking for a donor and found some numbers online. When we called a number, a person on the other end promised that he would come. After some time, he called us and demanded money for petrol to travel and we transferred `500. But he didn't turn up," the woman said.