An acute crisis of blood and blood products during the Ramadan has gripped voluntary blood donation organisations, affecting proper treatment of many patients needing them urgently.

Taking advantage of the crisis, many privately owned blood banks have raised the price of a bag of 500ml blood to around Tk 1500 from Tk 1,000 earlier. Most of the blood banks are not officially recognised.

All the organisations managing voluntary blood donation, including the leading one Bangladesh Red Crescent Blood Centre (BRCBQ, have reported crisis of blood and blood products since the beginning of the Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset as part of religious rituals.

The crisis emerged as people who fast cannot donate blood during the fasting hours under religious dictates and hesitate to do so even later in theday.

Experts however say blood donation after breaking fast does no harm to a donor.

Blood crisis has affected surgeries at the leading hospitals including Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMUH), National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Ibrahim Memorial Hospital popularly known as the BIRD EM, National Institute of Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation (NTTOR).

Sources at different hospitals said that due to the blood crisis, they have rescheduled major operations like open heart surgery, brain surgery, gall bladder operation and orthopaedic surgery.

"We are facing problems due to the crisis of blood especially in cases of emergency surgeries. For routine operations, we are advising patients' relatives to arrange blood in advance, which has also become very difficult," said Prof Nazrul Islam, director of the NICVD.

The worst-hit in the crisis are thalassemia patients who need a special type of blood transfusion three times a week. Many such patients are now having blood transfusion only once a week risking their survival.

Officials at the BRCBC at Mohammadpur said they hardly have any stock of blood as voluntary donation during the Ramadan is very poor.

"Right now we have less than five bags of blood in our stock. The situation is so bad for the last two weeks that hundreds of clients who come to us have to go back disappointed," said Dr Shahana Jafar, director of the centre.

The centre usually collects 80 to 100 bags (each containing 500 ml) of blood during a voluntary blood donation programme and keeps a daily reserve of 50 to 60 bags.

Sandhani, another leading voluntary blood donation organisation run by intern medical students, also faces similar crisis.

Sandhani Dhaka Medical College (DMC) unit collected only about 20 bags of blood from volunteers during the Ramadan as against about 600 bags a month earlier.

"During the Ramadan, we are operating only one blood collection camp instead of six camps a month and that one too hardly attracts any donors," said Monzurul Haque, president of the unit.

Quantum Foundation, another privately run blood donation organisation, reported similar crisis. It collected only about 300 bags of blood during the Ramadan from its 24,000 donors.

Tareq Mohammad, a member of the organisation said, "Our routine voluntary blood donation programmes have been put off during the Ramadan and we arc unable to arrange blood for emergency use."

"The crisis has pushed the price of a blood bag up. It is now very hard to find ^donors. So, most of tire blood we are now selling come from professional donors, who charge high price," said a dealer at a private blood bankinShyamoli.