Blood banks of Bangalore: Life-saving accounts

Picture this: it’s 2 am and you are woken up by an urgent call from your friend whose son is battling for his life at the hospital. He is desperately in need of blood. You need to locate the number of blood banks, ASAP. What do you do? Where do you go?

Most homes will have contact details of takeaway outlets, at the most of the neighbourhood clinic. We never really think of storing emergency numbers. Here is your chance to make a list of the blood banks that are open in the city, 24/7.

The blood bank at Manipal Hospital was set up in 1991 and has emerged as the biggest in the state. It has state-of-the art screening facilities for infections like Aids and Hepatitis C, and blood is provided to the poor, free of cost. The stringent measures used here for quality control has earned it an ISO 9001-2000 certification.

Several other hospitals that have functional blood banks, round-the-clock, are Mallya Hospital, MS Ramaiah, Victoria Hospital, Bowring Hospital, Kempegowda, St Maratha’s, Narayana Hrudayalaya and Columbia Asia.

Besides hospitals, there are many stand-alone blood banks that work through the day and the night. A few such places include Grace Blood Bank, Naveen Blood Bank, Bangalore Blood Bank, SK Voluntary Blood Bank, Akshay Voluntary Blood Bank, Indian Red Cross Blood Bank, Minerva Voluntary Blood Bank, Jayanagar Voluntary Blood Bank, Life Care Voluntary Blood Bank, Navrang Blood Bank, Unique Blood Bank, Jeeva Voluntary & Component Blood Bank, Bangalore Medical Services Trust, Kempegowda Medical Service Trust and Karnataka State Blood Transfusion Council.

Some clubs like Lions Club and Rotary Club also have their own 24/7 blood banks. These clubs organise blood-donation camps round the year and everybody is encouraged to take part.

It’s a life-saving account … remember to contribute your bit to it!