On September 10, The Quint published a first person account of a 25-year-old woman (The Quint’s own journalist) who had gone to Fortis, Noida to donate blood for a patient with cancer.
She went with her colleague, a married woman. Both there to donate blood for the same patient. While the married colleague was allowed to donate, our unmarried journalist wasn’t – with the doctor citing ‘safe sex’ parameters. Even after the journalist had checked the ‘safe sex’ box in the blood donation form.
The journalist wrote about her experience, underlining that she didn’t contest the hospital’s right to ask her questions. What she objected to was the fact that her married colleague faced no such queries.
Also shocking, was this statement by the doctor - while it could be “believed” that the unmarried journalist may have had safe sex since she “looked respectable and well-to-do”, someone who didn’t “look that way”, might not be allowed.
When the article was published, readers reacted with overwhelming surprise, outrage and anger.
We’re just as confused as the general reader. For one, we had no idea that blood donation was such a horribly skewed issue.
In a country like India where quality of healthcare has always been contested, shouldn’t the system allow more people to donate, than to shut them out?
Fortis has responded to the article with their own clarification:
We respect their voice, but we feel Fortis may have missed the ball on this one.
The article run by The Quint didn’t question the existing law but was meant to highlight the discrimination between a married donor and an unmarried donor, as well the disturbing comments its HoD made along socio-economic lines.
It also pointed at the disparities between Fortis’ SOP and other government hospitals. One was forced to wonder what what would happen if a person who was used to donating blood at a government hospital was suddenly forced to donate at Fortis for a loved one. Would such a person be turned away if he didn’t satisfy their criteria?
Here’s what we suggest:
- Sensitise hospital staff to issues like these, so that one doesn’t feel socially discriminated against.
- Take a harder look at the bizarrely different SOPs across different hospitals and come to a common consensus so that it doesn’t confuse your donor.
- Don’t allow your doctors to bring personal biases into the equation.
Because after all, who draws the line between insulting and medically
appropriate?
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)