Odisha will give Rs.500 per month travel expense to patients of chronic blood

Bhubaneswar, October 14: On the occasion of Voluntary Blood Donation Day, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced of giving Rs.500 per month travel expenses for Thalassemia, Hemophilia & Sickle Cell patients. Assuring the commitment of government towards all sections of the community, Naveen Patnaik said that his government is committed to ensuring easy accessibility of adequate quantity of safe and quality blood to all sections of the community. 

According to the announcement, the state government will provide Rs 500 per month to patients of chronic blood disorders towards their transportation cost for blood transfusion. Official sources said the government's move will entail the annual expenditure of around Rs 15 crore. The state has 25,000 patients who require the periodic blood transfusion. They include 5,000 suffering from thalassemia, 1,000 haemophilia and the rest suffering from sickle cell anaemia. These patients receive average 60,000 units of blood annually totally free of cost from the government-run blood banks.

 

The state government has adopted latest technology for screening of blood on a pilot basis for 6 blood banks at Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, and Burla. The expenditure involved in the NAT/PCR screening procedure will be borne by the state government. Further, Naveen Patnaik added that the government will soon open seven more blood component separation units seven places Balasore, Baripada, Keonjhar, Koraput, Baragarh, Bolangir and Rourkela.