Regional blood centres programme starts in Punjab

LAHORE
Adviser to Chief Minister on health, Khwaja Salman Rafiq has said that on the directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, establishment of Regional Blood Centres (RBCs) programme has been started in the province and in the first phase, Multan and Bahawalpur would have state-of-the-art regional blood centres.
He said that both RBCs had been completed and would soon be inaugurated. He said that hospital-based blood banks in both the divisional headquarters would be attached with the RBCs to provide safe and healthy blood and blood products to the patients.
He said this while chairing a meeting to review the arrangements for setting up state-of-the-art RBCs, according to a handout issued here on Wednesday. Besides, Secretary Health Jawad Rafiq Malik, Adviser Tayyap Erdogan Trust Hospital, Muzaffargarh, Dr Tasman Abne Rasa, National Team Leader of officers of Health Management Institute of German Zahid Mehmood, Prof Saba Jamal of Idus Hospital, Karachi, Dr Zafar Iqbal, Additional Secretary Health Technical Dr Salman Shahid and other officers concerned attended the meeting.
Prof Saba Jamal gave a presentation on the blood centres of Indus Hospital, Karachi. Kh Salman Rafiq said that RBCs in Punjab would be operated on the pattern of blood centre of Indus Hospital, Karachi. He said that these RBCs in Punjab were being established with the cooperation of EPOS Germany, which was cooperating in implementation of safe blood transfusion project in Pakistan. He said that master trainers would be trained from Indus Hospital, Karachi, who will further impart training to other technical staff in Punjab. He said that it was the vision of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to establish a state-of-the-art blood centre in Punjab to ensure provision of screened healthy blood to patients and control blood diseases like AIDS, Hepatitis and Thalassaemia etc. He said that in first phase, two RBCs at Multan and Bahawalpur were being set up which would be linked to the hospitals in those districts after that such RBCs would be established at other divisional headquarters level. He said that a massive awareness campaign should also be launched to motivate blood donors.
Secretary Health Jawad Rafiq Malik said that technical experts of Indus Hospital, Karachi should make a gap analysis in the system of blood centres of Punjab and present a report regarding the missing requirements so that immediate steps could be taken in this regard. He said that different management models were under consideration to run the RBCs in Punjab.