Daily Times

The Punjab government has decided to restructure the Safe Blood Transfusion Service with Rs400 million in the government teaching hospitals across the province.

A new updated system of blood screening would be launched shortly in hospitals, sources in Punjab Health Department told APP on Sunday. Policy on provision of Safe Blood Transfusion Service has been formulated during the ongoing fiscal year 2023-24, they added.

Noted Hematologist Dr. Shahida Parvin told APP that blood transfusions are generally considered safe, but there is some risk of complications. Mild complications, and rarely severe ones, occur during the transfusion process and sometimes after the process, she added. The government initiative of launching state-of-the-art blood transfusion service and its up-gradation would help reduce common reactions, which can most often cause allergic reactions, such as hives, itching and fever, said the expert.

Likewise, she said that upgraded transfusion service would help blood banks screen donors and test donated blood to reduce the risk of transfusion-related infections. Through this process, infections, such as HIV or hepatitis B or C, could be prevented, she added.

According to a document of Pakistan Red Crescent, in Pakistan, B-thalassemia (B-thal) trait frequency ranges between 5.0-7.0 percent and, there are more than 10 million carriers in the country. Every year, around 5000 children are diagnosed to carry B-thal major (B-TM) in the country, it revealed. In this sector so far, no standard management protocols exist in blood transfusion, which remains the mainstay of management.

Most of the population belong to the lower socioeconomic strata; family units are large and therefore cannot afford to pay for treatment to maintain the management of their thalassemic child.

Currently, at the national level, not a single thalassemia prevention programme is under way, local Sundas Foundation sources told APP. However, at the provincial level, some initiatives has been taken, legislation has been approved for premarital screening in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Sindh, and Balochistan, but implementation remains the issue.