KARACHI: Four regional blood transfusion centres (RBTC) will be opened for public by the end of the month under public-private partnership in Sindh, while the same number of more blood banks will also be upgraded in second phase. Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA) Secretary Dr Zahid Hasan Ansari, while talking to PPI, said the regional blood banks had been constructed in Karachi, Jamshoro, Nawab shah and Sukkur with financial assistance of German Development Bank. He said this project had been completed with the cost of 100 million euros, and will be inaugurated by the end of March. He informed that state-of-the-art blood processing, screening, testing, component preparation and storage facilities will be ensured in these blood banks, adding that safe and screened blood will be provided to hundreds of patients every day through centralized blood banking system. He said four RBTCs would cover the entire province once they are made functional. He informed that a regional blood transfusion centre would be linked with six hospital-based blood banks (HBBBs). He said there was storage capacity of 50,000 blood bags in each regional blood bank and around 200,000 blood bags can be stored once a time in blood banks once made operational. Dr Ansari said after inauguration of regional blood banks, four more blood banks of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Civil Hospital Karachi, Sindh Government Korangi Hospital and Chandka Medical Center of Larkana would be upgraded with financial assistance of German government in second phase. He said up gradation process of four more blood banks will complete in two years.