Services of renowned hematologist Dr Tahir Shamsi remembered

Pakistani healthcare professionals should strive for excellence in their respective areas of medical science and try to learn skills and procedures from abroad to serve suffering humanity, as did eminent hematologist Prof Dr Tahir Shamsi, who not only introduced bone marrow transplant in Pakistan but also trained dozens of people in the field of hematology, senior doctors and surgeons said on Thursday.

Speaking at a condolence reference to pay homage to the late Dr Shamsi, who died in Karachi a couple of days back, senior doctors and surgeons could not control their emotions while expressing their views about him and termed him a great health expert and scientist, who played an important role in the treatment of blood disorders in the country.

The condolence reference was organised by the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) in Karachi and it was attended by senior health experts, including Prof Dr Sohail Akhtar, Prof Shahid Noor, Dr Abdullah Muttaqi, Dr Saqib Ansari, Prof Atif Hafeez Siddiqui, Dr Humayun Farrukh, Dr Tabassum Jafri, Dr Kashid Shazlee, Dr Shahid Mustafa, Dr Zakiuddin Ahmed, Dr Imran Hamid, Syed Jamshed Ahmed, Dr Samina and Dr Babar Khan.

Remembering Dr Shamsi, renowned hematologist Dr Saqib Ansari said Prof Shamsi was a mentor of mentors and the pioneer of bone marrow transplant and research in the area of genetic blood disorders, blood cancers and other diseases.

“Prof Shamsi has trained such a large number of experts in the field of hematology and produced so much research papers that hardly anybody can match his contributions in the field of medical science. He was a great mentor and kind human being, who was against unethical practices in the field of medicine and surgery,” Dr Ansari added.

Prof Sohail Akhtar said Prof Shamsi started his struggle for the treatment of patients with blood disorders early in his career, started his own unit from a single floor in a private hospital and later established the National Institute of Blood Diseases (NIBD), which is a world-renowned institute in the field of hematology.

Dr Shahid Noor was of the view that his colleagues and students should follow Dr Shamsi’s path and should not let the National Institute of Blood Diseases (NIBD) to suffer after his death, hoping that his colleagues and friends would continue to follow the legacy of Dr Shamsi.

Dr Zakiuddin Ahmed, a patient safety and digital health expert announced introduction of Dr Tahir Shamsi Research Award in the area of patient safety during the upcoming patient safety conference and added that conferences and seminars should be held on Dr Shamsi’s contribution in the field of medicine and research in the area of medical science.

Senior paediatrician Dr Khalid Shafi, renowned interventional radiologist Dr Kashif Shazlee, Dr Aurangzeb and others also paid tribute to Dr Shamsi while Fateha was offered for the departed soul.