A cancer patient receiving blood transfusion after chemotherapy
Cancer treatment in India is a story of two things happening simultaneously.
Medical science has made real progress. Survival rates for many cancers are improving. Treatment protocols are more refined. Hospitals like Tata Memorial in Mumbai, AIIMS Delhi, Apollo Cancer Centre, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, and Christian Medical College Vellore are delivering outcomes that would have seemed impossible two decades ago.
But none of this progress — not a single dose of chemotherapy, not a single bone marrow transplant, not a single session of radiation — happens without blood.
Cancer treatment and blood donation are inseparable. The better India gets at treating cancer, the more blood it needs. And it needs it now, every day, in quantities that the current voluntary donor base cannot consistently supply.
India's national blood demand study found that oncology surgery accounts for approximately 0.34 million units of blood annually — about 8.4% of the total surgical blood demand. But this figure captures only surgical oncology. The actual blood consumption of India's cancer patients is far larger when chemotherapy-related transfusion needs are included.
Chemotherapy and blood: Most cancer chemotherapy works by killing rapidly dividing cells — which includes cancer cells, but also the rapidly dividing cells in bone marrow that produce blood. This is why chemotherapy causes myelosuppression — a suppression of the bone marrow's ability to produce red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
The result:
For patients on aggressive or multi-drug chemotherapy regimens — treatment for leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, or high-grade solid tumours — blood and platelet transfusions may be needed every 1–2 weeks throughout the treatment course, which can span 4–6 months or longer.
A single cancer patient on intensive chemotherapy may require 20–40 units of blood components over the course of their treatment.
Leukaemia — cancer of the blood-forming cells in bone marrow — is the most blood-intensive cancer from a transfusion standpoint. The bone marrow in leukaemia patients produces abnormal, non-functional blood cells that crowd out normal production.
Both the disease itself and its treatment (chemotherapy, stem cell transplant) cause severe anaemia and thrombocytopenia. Patients with acute leukaemia — particularly Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) — may receive transfusions nearly every week during induction chemotherapy.
Leukaemia accounts for approximately 8.2% of India's paediatric blood demand — meaning a significant share of the children who need blood in India's hospitals are leukaemia patients.
Lymphoma patients receive intensive chemotherapy regimens (like CHOP or R-CHOP) that frequently cause myelosuppression requiring platelet and red cell support.
A plasma cell cancer that affects the bone marrow, multiple myeloma causes anaemia directly through its impact on normal blood cell production, and its treatment accelerates this. Autologous stem cell transplant — the standard treatment for eligible myeloma patients — requires intensive blood support through the transplant period.
Cancers that spread to bone marrow (metastatic breast, prostate, and small cell lung cancer) can disrupt normal blood production in addition to their primary site effects.
Gynaecological cancers — cervical, ovarian, uterine — account for approximately 4.1% (0.13 million units) of India's obstetric and gynaecology blood demand, according to national data.
Of all the blood components needed by cancer patients, platelets are the most urgently and frequently needed — and the most difficult to supply.
Chemotherapy consistently drops platelet counts. When platelets fall below 10,000–20,000 per microlitre (normal is 150,000–450,000), spontaneous internal bleeding becomes a serious risk — particularly in the brain and digestive tract. Platelet transfusion is given prophylactically (before the patient bleeds) to keep counts above safe thresholds.
The 5-day shelf life of platelets means that a cancer patient needing weekly transfusions requires freshly collected platelets — there is no stocking up. This creates a week-by-week dependency on the platelet donor pool.
Single Donor Apheresis Platelets (SDP) are preferred for cancer patients who receive multiple transfusions, because:
Bengaluru's Sankalp Foundation, which pioneered platelet apheresis among IT professionals, specifically targeted cancer patient needs. The Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram completed 670 plateletpheresis procedures in the first half of 2025 alone — reflecting the scale of cancer-related platelet demand at a single institution.
For cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, thalassemia, and aplastic anaemia, bone marrow transplant (BMT) offers a curative path — but requires extraordinary blood bank support.
During a BMT:
During this period, the patient typically receives red blood cell and platelet transfusions daily or every other day. A single BMT patient may consume 30–60 units of blood components over the engraftment period alone.
India performs a growing number of bone marrow transplants each year at centres including Tata Memorial, AIIMS Delhi, Fortis Bone Marrow Transplant Centre, and CMC Vellore. Each procedure places a significant and predictable demand on the blood banking system.
The chain from donor to cancer patient is direct:
This cycle repeats throughout the patient's treatment. A regular platelet donor who gives every two weeks can theoretically support the same leukaemia patient through a full induction chemotherapy course.
Not all cancer patients receive the transfusion support they need.
India has approximately 4,153 licensed blood banks — but they are unevenly distributed. Patients at top-tier cancer centres in Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai have reliable access to SDP and matched blood products. Cancer patients in smaller towns who travel to the nearest district hospital for chemotherapy often do not.
Blood banks in smaller cities may not have apheresis capability, may not carry adequate platelet stock, or may not have the immunohaematology infrastructure to provide extended blood type matching. For patients who develop alloantibodies from multiple transfusions — a common complication in long-term cancer treatment — finding compatible blood at a small blood bank can be genuinely impossible.
Digital platforms like TheBloodApp help by enabling rare or specific blood type alerts to reach donors in any city — not just those near major cancer centres. When a cancer patient in Lucknow needs AB+ platelets urgently and the local blood bank is short, an alert to registered AB+ platelet donors within 30 km can close that gap faster than any traditional system.
Register on TheBloodApp today. Indicate your willingness to donate platelets if you weigh 55+ kg. When a cancer patient somewhere in India needs your blood type urgently, you can be the response. To find platelet apheresis centres and donation camps near you, call the number listed in the app.
Sources: PLOS ONE — National Blood Demand Study India | PMC — Plateletpheresis at Tertiary Cancer Centre South India (2026) | PMC — Voluntary Blood Donation India | Sankalp India Foundation | DKMS India — Blood Cancer | Carepalsecure — Blood Cancer Treatment India 2025 | WHO India Blood Safety 2024 | Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai
Stay informed, stay inspired — your go-to source for everything about blood donation and impact.
India has its own national blood donation day — October 1 — that predates World Blood Donor Day by 29 years. Here's the history, the man behind it, and why this date matters more than ever.
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in India need regular blood transfusions — often for months. Here's how your blood donation directly supports cancer care across the country.
Gujarat leads the country in voluntary blood donation with multiple national trophies. Ahmedabad's Prathama Blood Centre serves 50% of the city's blood needs through 100% voluntary donation. Here's your complete guide.
Be a part of the change — donate safely, stay connected, and help someone in need. Download the app today.
Available on
