About 80 per cent demand for blood transfusion in our country are met by contaminated blood collected from professional donors on payment.

According to the experts, various kinds of deadly viruses like hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and syphilis are found in the blood of professional donors.

The blood banks of the government hospitals have been supplying contaminated blood collected from professional donors to the patients admitted to the hospitals, source said, adding that ‘shady’ people rule the roost of the these blood banks.

The poor unsuspecting patients going to the hospital know nothing about the difference between safe blood transfusion and contaminated blood transfusion as they are easily duped into buying blood through the brokers at a high price.

"Voluntary blood donation campaign lags far behind in meeting the requirement, so about 80 per cent of the demand for blood is met by professional donors," said Dr M Ansarul Islam, Professor of Blood Transfusion Department of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), talking to The Independent.

According to a government source, the country needs about 250,000 bags of blood a year but only about 60,000 bags are collected from voluntary donors and supplied to the government hospitals, and the rest of the demand is met by the blood collected from professional donors.

Mojibur Rahman was one of the victims trapped by the brokers. His father was admitted to the DMCH for a surgical operation and he was very much in need of blood. "A staff of the Blood Bank helped me collect blood in exchange of money," Mojib said.

Sandhani, a voluntary organisation of medical students, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, Quantum Foundation and some other voluntary organisations of students like Badhon of Dhaka University are associated with voluntary blood donation campaign.

Sandhani was awarded with ‘Sawdhinata Padak’ in current year for its social service.

"Most of the blood is collected from mobile blood donation camps. Very few volunteers come to the blood centre to donate blood at a regular interval of four to six months," said Mamun Shiblee, general secretary of the Sandhani, DMC unit.

"There is no motivation campaign through radio, television and print media. All motivations occurs are made through face to face contact with prospective donors. A large group of young healthy people who do not belong to any institution could not be reached through this personal contact by the organisation working on voluntary blood donation," Shiblee added.

"In the 60s when there was blood crisis and professional blood donation was not a business, attendant of every patient provided two bags of blood before admitting the patient to the hospitals," said Prof Islam, adding, "Those days every blood bank had its own blood pool but now-a-days blood collection in the government blood banks is very poor."

Last year, all the branches of Sandhani in its countrywide drive collected some 40 thousand bags of blood from healthy volunteers. Other non-profit voluntary organisations collected 20 thousand bags. The total collection of 60 thousand bags is only 24 per cent of the country's estimated annual need of human blood.

According to Bangladesh Thalassemia Society, about one crore people carry the genetic disease and 8 thousand more born are every year. A large number of them need blood transfusion every month but cannot get it on time.

A recent survey by Sandhani in the DMCH shows that the hospital needs about 1200 bags of blood per month whereas Sandhani DMC unit can provide only 600 bags.

"The blood collection from volunteers has seasonal fluctuations too. Collection usually increases during the winter while during the month of Ramzan it decreases," Shiblee said.