- 500 pints of blood have already been supplied for national need
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the electricity sector regulator, has successfully organized 12 blood transfusion camps island wide within a month, at the request of the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS or Blood Bank) with the assistance of island-wide electricians, civil organizations of the respective districts and the public.
Five of the donation camps have already been completed and steps are being taken to host the remaining camps within this month.
The PUCSL held its first blood donation camps in the Kurunegala, Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Ratnapura districts where blood was urgently needed, and more than 800 blood donors were registered for these camps.
Nearly 500 pints of blood were donated to the national need, as required by the blood transfusion centers in the respective districts, through the first five camps.
The blood donation camps are held adhering to all the health guidelines and the registering of blood donors, providing them with a time slot to attend the donation camp and permission to travel in the time of travel restrictions is carried out online with the support of Blood Bank.
Commenting on the rapid blood donation camps host by the PUCSL, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr Janaka Ratnayake said,
“At the end of May, the National Blood Transfusion Center requested our assistance in obtaining blood for national need.
Accordingly, we with the assistance of the Electrician Organizations which we have established in various parts of the country expeditiously organized these blood transfusion camps as a solution to the present blood shortage of the country,"
"In less than 10 days, the first five camps were organized in the worst-hit districts by the lack of blood.
We were able to donate nearly 500 pints of blood to those camps, depending on the needs of the blood transfusion centers in each district.
Our goal is to donate 2,500 pints of blood to the blood bank,"
"We have scheduled to host 7 more special blood donation camps in Ratnapura, Kandy, Polonnaruwa, Gampaha, Jaffna and Mullaitivu districts to meet the blood needs, during this month.
We will continue to support to organize and supply blood as needed in the future,"
"The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka would also like to express its gratitude and appreciation for the great interest and participation of the people in these areas in donating blood."