THANE, Dec. 24 -- The civic-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa is facing a 30% shortage of blood and has appealed to the public to come forward to donate blood. The shortage has resulted in the hospital postponing surgeries, potentially risking patients' lives. The 500-bed hospital is a pivotal medical centre that caters to critical cases from across Thane and Palghar districts. These include accidents cases and other medical emergencies that require surgery. The hospital has been under further pressure for the last two years, ever since the government-run Thane civil hospital in Thane city all but shut. The Thane facility, another go-to institution for patients in a large radius, is being remodelled and expanded and has shifted to a temporary location. No completion date has been announced. Apart from the added pressure on the Kalwa hospital, relatives of patients who have been given blood during surgery often do not replace the blood that is used, which is standard practice, according to hospital sources. They said the hospital also accepts patients from far and wide, including Palghar, Shahpur, Wada, Kalyan-Dombivli, Badlapur and Navi Mumbai. "On average, we handle nearly 6,000 patients daily, both in-patients and out-patients. Surgery requirements have been depleting our blood bank, which patients have not been replenishing," Dr Shivkumar Kori, Head of the Pathology and the Blood Bank at the Kalwa hospital, told HT. The blood bank has a storage capacity of 800 bottles of blood. At present, it is facing a 30% shortage and is able to issue only 20 bottles per day, he added. And it's not just blood. The shortage of blood has caused a shortage of blood components, used in life-saving medical treatments. These include plasma, platelets and Factor VIII for haemophilia patients, said Kori. The Kalwa hospital was in the news in August 2023, for 18 deaths that took place in a single day. On August 12, 18 patients - 10 women and eight men - died within 24 hours at the hospital. Despite an uproar, the hospital saw eight more deaths in the next two days. On the blood shortage, Dr Swapnali Kadam, dean of the Kalwa hospital, said, "Our hospital receives a large number of critical cases from across Thane and Palghar districts. Most of these cases involve serious accidents or complicated deliveries that require immediate surgical intervention. Adequate blood supply is essential for such surgeries. Donors are welcome to visit the hospital directly to donate blood, and we will assist in organising blood-donation camps in housing societies, offices and NGOs." Revisiting the August 12, 2023, deaths, Kadam said, "Most of the patients who died were referred by doctors and hospitals outside the city limits, including areas on the Gujarat border. Some of them were attempted to suicide cases, paediatric cases and severe accident cases....