Redhakhol Blood Bank Remains Closed for Nine Months, Press Club Urges Immediate Reopening
Redhakhol : The blood bank at Rairakhol Sub-Divisional Hospital in Sambalpur district has remained non-functional for more than nine months, causing considerable hardship to patients and their families.
The Redhakhol Press Club submitted a written memorandum to Sambalpur District Collector Siddheshwar Baliram Bondar during a joint public grievance hearing held on Monday, urging the administration to take immediate steps to make the blood bank operational again.
In the memorandum, the Press Club highlighted the importance of Redhakhol as a key region of western Odisha, comprising numerous villages and serving a large rural population, including farming communities. A significant number of people visit the sub-divisional hospital every day to seek medical treatment.
Although the hospital previously had a functioning blood bank, services have remained suspended for over nine months because its licence could not be renewed. The continued closure has created serious difficulties for patients requiring urgent blood transfusions.
The situation is particularly concerning because two national highways pass through the Redhakhol area, where road accidents frequently occur. The absence of a functioning blood bank can make it difficult to provide timely treatment to accident victims and other critically ill patients.
Doctors are reportedly being forced to refer patients to hospitals in neighbouring Sambalpur and Boudh districts for further treatment, increasing the burden on patients and their families.
The Press Club also pointed out that the hospital serves people living near the borders of three districts. The prolonged closure of the blood bank has therefore affected a large section of the population, particularly poor and vulnerable patients who face additional difficulties travelling elsewhere for treatment.
The Press Club appealed to the district administration to treat the matter as a priority and take the necessary steps to restore blood bank services at the earliest. It expressed hope that reopening the facility would provide substantial relief to hundreds of people in the region.
Press Club president Shankar Pushti, secretary Tapan Kumar Biswal, senior journalist Rabindranath Pradhan, Sushant Kumar Nag, Anil Pushti, Sudhir Suna and Madan Behera were among those who participated in the initiative, along with other journalist members.
