Pakistan is currently experiencing 40 percent shortfall against the need of three million point blood required each year, experts said addressing a seminar organised by Sindh Health Department and Hussaini Blood Bank here on Thursday.
The seminar "Celebrating the Gift of Blood", arranged to observe World Blood Donors Day was followed by a formal acknowledgement of regular blood donors belonging to Sindh.
Professor Syed Abdul Mujib a senior pathologist and In-charge, Jinnah Post Graduate Centre speaking on the occasion said Pakistan with no dearth of healthy blood donors is in need to urgently streamline the source. "This is extremely urgent as one of the three mothers suffering from hemorrhage dies every three minutes, across the country, in want of blood," he said.
Further elaborating the need to strengthen culture of blood donation he mentioned presence of some 60,000 to 70,000 thalassemic children in the country - each requiring two units of blood per month.
Expecting mothers and thalassemic children were said to be the established cases along with thousands of those exposed to vehicular accidents, trauma, collisions, patients undergoing surgery and other relevant case in dire need of blood.
Dr Mujib maintaining that there was no dearth of will and spirit among local population, particularly youth, to donate blood, reiterated need for concerted efforts to promote blood donation culture in the country.
"The spirit among Pakistanis can be well gauged during emergency situation as earthquake, bomb blasts when people could be seen in long queues to donate blood bank," he said elaborating his stance.
Sindh Health Minister Shabbir Ahmed Qaimkhani said the provincial government was strongly committed to eliminate culture of commercial blood donation, which besides other repercussions exposed people to serious health threats. The public health risks, manifested in the form of blood borne infections, enhances urgency for voluntary donation of adequately screened safe and healthy blood, he said.
Qaimkhani mentioned that not only professional blood donors are being restrained but each blood bank is also required to have adequate facilities for blood screening and storage.
With the very motive the Sindh government has established Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority and has also embarked upon a stringent policy to register blood banks across the province, he said.
Sindh Health Secretary, Naushad Ali Shaikh said that government committed to the cause of safe blood transfusion has extended adequate relief to blood banks and associated institutions importing relevant gadgets.
He also maintained that no relaxation would be extended in the policy to register blood banks that are well equipped and staffed with properly trained professionals.
This, he said was a major challenge and the government needed community support in motivating healthy citizens of the country to donate blood on regular basis so that there may not left any room for professional donors.
Other speakers on the occasion including Additional Health Secretary (Technical), Dr Abdul Majid, Additional Health Secretary (Development), Dr Manzoor Memon, EDO Health, Karachi, Dr Khalid Shaikh, Project Manager, Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority, Dr Zahid Ansari, Programme Manager, Extended Programme of HIV/AIDS Control, Sindh, Dr Salma Kauser strongly dispelled the impression that blood donation may caste any negative impact on the donor.
On the contrary, they said health status of voluntary donors were found to be much better than those, pertaining to same age group with no reported disease yet reluctant to donate blood.
Speakers also mentioned that strengthening the culture of voluntary blood donation has emerged to be extremely pertinent in face of shrinking family size hence reducing the number of family blood donors.
Constant migration of people from rural to urban areas is also effecting the concept of community based blood donors, they said.
It was reminded that blood donation not only offers protection against different diseases but also offers opportunity for regular medical examination.
Comments
Comments are closed.