BHAKTAPUR: The Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), Bhaktapur has appealed to the public to donate blood in order to address a nationwide shortage of blood supplies.

At present, blood banks across the country including in Bhaktapur are facing a shortage of blood when there is a significant demand for blood supplies amidst the soaring cases of dengue fever.

The blood collection has remained halted during the Dashain festival, exacerbating the shortage.

Despite this, the NRCS in Bhaktapur is making efforts to address the demand for blood for emergency purposes. Still, relatives of patients visiting the district in search of blood are not compelled to return empty-handed.

The scarcity of blood has surfaced nationwide including in the districts in the Valley and neighboring Kavrepalanchowk, it is said.

NRCS Bhaktapur’s outgoing president Manoj Kumar Thapa said the NRCS-operated blood bank supplies 30-35 pints of blood each day, but the demand is up to 150 pints.

“A pint of blood could save a life,” he said, urging the public to donate blood.