Mumbai, June 2 -- With barely 5,000 units of blood available at blood banks across the city, Mumbai is witnessing severe blood shortage which is making families of patients run from one hospital to another or post online pleas. The state health department is scrambling to replenish stocks through urgent blood donation camps even as some are falling prey to scammers posing as donors. According to estimates, Mumbai needs an estimated 1,000-1,400 units of blood daily. But as of May 30, only 5,325 blood units and 65 single donor platelet (SDP) units were available across the city, which the State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) warned would last for only five-six days. The acute shortage began in the last week of May, largely due to a seasonal drop in voluntary donations during the summer holidays when many donors were away on vacation and regular blood donation drives in colleges and offices came to a halt. Hospitals across the city are facing the ripple effect of the shortage. As per government data, the BDBA Shatabdi Blood Bank in Kandivali and the Bhabha Hospital in Bandra have run out of stock entirely. Other major hospitals are operating with dangerously low supplies: Sion Hospital has 10 units, Tata Memorial 15, JJ Hospital has 23 units, Rajawadi 39, and St George's 45. Even the best-stocked government facilities at KEM and Nair Hospitals are operating below optimal levels - with only 159 and 164 units in stock, respectively. Suburban hospitals are particularly hard-hit, with just 21 units available among them. The shortage is pushing hospitals to ask patients in the emergency and surgical wards to arrange for blood donors. At KEM Hospital, the family of a 59-year-old man suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding said they had to struggle before finding a donor. "The hospital told us there was no O-positive blood. So we called relatives, posted the requirement on WhatsApp groups, and finally found a donor through a friend's office camp after over 24 hours," said the patient's daughter. In another case at a private hospital, a 61-year-old patient awaiting heart surgery urgently needed O-positive blood. His son Ajay Mukherjee, an animation designer, posted a plea on social media platform X, only to be contacted by someone claiming to be from a nonprofit. "The person said he could help if we were willing to pay Rs.2,000 to the donor for travel. We were desperate so we transferred the money, but the person never called back," said Mukherjee. Dr Purushottam Puri, assistant director, SBTC, acknowledged the problem, saying that while the shortage was making people turn to social media to seek donors, they were also more susceptible to scammers. "It is illegal for anyone to demand money in exchange for blood," he said, adding that no formal complaints had been lodged about such instances this year. "We will take strict action if we receive an official complaint because such acts are punishable under SBTC rules," Dr Puri told Hindustan Times. The SBTC was making persistent efforts to manage the crisis by holding daily blood donation camps in residential societies, he said. "We just held one camp at Mantralaya and several more are planned across the city. We are trying to replenish the stock as fast as we can," said Dr Puri. He urged housing societies, colleges, workplaces, and community groups to host donation drives on an urgent basis. "One unit of donated blood can save up to three lives. We need people to come forward before this situation becomes unmanageable," he said. Doctors, too, are raising alarm. "This is not just a medical issue anymore-it's a public emergency," said Dr Mohan Joshi, dean of Sion Hospital. "Don't wait until your family is in crisis. Mumbai needs donors now."...