For the first time, a blood bank came into operation at the District Hospital of West Rukum, located in Salle of Musikot Municipality, on Monday.

According to Tek Bahadur Kusari, chairman of the hospital management committee, the blood bank came into operation with the help of Musikot Municipality, the Nepal Red Cross Society district branch, and other donor agencies at a cost of Rs3.5 million.

Earlier, even people in emergency cases needed to wait for blood donors.

The hospital is planning to further upgrade the blood bank to provide service to more people, said Kusari.