Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial Hospital faced a blood-component shortage Friday after a key separation machine malfunctioned, halting platelet and plasma production for emergency surgeries.
Technicians estimated repairs could take 72 hours unless spare parts arrive from a vendor in Pune already backlogged with monsoon-season demand.
Cancer wards scheduled transfusions around dwindling inventories while appeals went out to voluntary donor camps across the city.
Hospital administrators blamed aging equipment contracts that delayed replacement of the centrifuge unit beyond recommended service life.
Public-health activists petitioned the municipal corporation to fund rental machines as a stopgap during festival-season trauma cases.
Blood banks in neighboring Thane reported surging transfer requests, stretching courier bikes thin during overnight curfews on heavy-truck movement.
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Sources:
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-kem-hospital-faces-blood-component-shortage-as-key-machine-fails-10737876/