Emergency patients in rural areas of Ramree and Kyaukpyu Townships on Ramree Island of Arakan State are facing healthcare difficulties due to the scarcity of blood donors, according to sources.
Local residents say that the military council’s road blockades have caused hospitals and clinics in the area to face shortages of medicine and blood for emergency patients.
“We always face difficulties with blood supply for emergency surgical patients. Sometimes, patients have to wait three or four days because there are no blood donors. In such cases, delayed treatment often leads to unwanted complications for the patients,” said a female nurse from Ramree Township.
Similarly, rural areas in Kyaukpyu Township are also facing shortages of both medicine and blood, making it difficult to provide timely treatment for emergency surgical patients.
Recently, social activists have been trying to address these difficulties by finding blood donors to help, but there remain challenges in establishing reliable blood donor organizations that all patients can depend on.
“If we had blood donor groups at the village-tract and station-area levels, these problems would be largely solved. But during this period, everyone is struggling with their own difficulties, so it’s hard enough to solve their own problems, let alone help others. So establishing such blood donor groups will require significant effort,” said a male blood donor from Kyaukpyu.
Ramree Island consists of two townships, Ramree and Kyaukpyu. The Arakha Army (AA) captured and controlled the entire Ramree Township in March 2023. The AA currently controls most of the rural areas in Kyaukpyu Township as well.
However, the military junta’s warships occupy positions along the coastal areas of Ramree Island and have cut off and blocked medicine and food supplies. This has caused severe healthcare challenges and livelihood crises for the island’s residents.
Sent by Aung Htein (DMG).
