Couch for blood donors that will mitigate vasovagal reactions

Professor Suchet Sachdeva of the Department of Transfusion Medicine was the first in India to invent and patent a technique that would make blood donation simple for both donors and doctors. He created a couch that will work on the donor’s calf muscles. Calf muscles have a peripheral heart that circulates the blood back into the body, which mitigates the chances of having vertigo in the donor.
Prof. Dr. Sachdeva had this patent done on 7 October 2021, with the patent grant number 378839, and the prototype is still in process. PGIMER awarded this research and patent at the first number on the annual research day, where more than 500 research papers are presented. Prof. Sachdeva tells the TDG about this groundbreaking research and how it will improve the safety of noble blood donors. It is an ergonomic modification to the traditional blood donor couch that incorporates a gentle massage to the blood donor’s calf muscles (peripheral heart) to aid in the pumping of venous return to the central heart.
He added further that this is basically a good-will gesture towards the noble blood donor. In a normal, healthy person, the central heart pumps the volume received from the venous return into the arteries for the supply of oxygen. Therefore, the low oxygen supply to the brain is circumvented, and the development of vasovagal reactions is mitigated. The drop in blood pressure that is experienced during vasovagal reactions is prevented by the enhancement of the pumping of blood into the arteries by the heart. Finally, the donor’s anxiety toward the needle is diverted by the gentle massage, and thus the vasovagal reactions that develop due to psychological factors are also attenuated, he concluded.
The Institute celebrated its 9th Annual Research Day on Friday, November 18, 2022. The faculty displayed their best published research papers from the previous three years in the Zakir Hall of the Institute.