Awareness stressed to help fight blood diseases

PESHAWAR: The Frontier Foundation Welfare Hospital and Blood Transfusion Services collected 14,463 pints of blood last year, which were screened properly and transfused to the people suffering from various diseases. This was stated at a meeting of the foundation, which was chaired by its Chairman Sahibzada Muhammad Haleem. Administrator Dr Fakhar Zaman, presented the annual report for a review to the participants. It was stated that camps were arranged in the year 2018 during which a total of 14,463 bags of blood were collected from the donors. Dr Fakhar Zaman said all the blood bags were screened. “As many as 157 cases of Hepatitis-B, 56 of Hepatitis-C, two of HIV, 100 of malaria and 27 cases of typhoid were detected during the screening,” he pointed out. The meeting was told that after the screening, the blood was provided free-of-cost to the patients suffering from thalassaemia, haemophilia and blood cancers. It was shared that the foundation incurred Rs50 million cost while extending free services to the poor and deserving patients. The meeting was told that Zakat and other donations from the philanthropists enabled the foundation to extend blood transfusion and other services to the deserving people. The foundation Chairman Sahibzada Muhammad Haleem directed the field staff to raise awareness among the people during the blood donation camps about the blood-related diseases which were hereditary. “Awareness about inherited blood diseases can help overcome thalassaemia disease,” he stressed.