Daily Times

Shockingly, in Pakistan, the most vital aspect of healthcare system is also the most overlooked. The shortage of blood, the lack of effective blood management system and the unavailability of voluntary blood donation system collectively are the causes of heart-rending stories of colossal number of the grieved lives, many of which have been cut short. The concrete initiatives are needed to be taken to get rid of this horrific and threatening situation.

To arrange blood desperately needed to either oneself or someone close is too much strenuous, disturbing and physically and mentally wearing task. Who can know it better than those who have experienced the situation?Ashique Ali Mahar, father of Siddiqa, 02 year old, one of the 600 thalassemia patients in Shikarpur, Sindh told me, “Only Allah knows all what tensions, agonies and adversities I have been undergoing to arrange blood, especially in the city other than our own city, for my children suffering from the deadly disease. As Shikarpur has no thalassemia center and blood bank, therefore, for treatment of my children, I used to take them away to private centers located at big cities such as Sukkur and Karachi where I was not able toarrange blood whenever the centers ran short of the needed blood group.” He further told with watering-eyes, “The disease has swallowed my two sons after I could not arrange the required blood for them. If the prevailing disturbing situation continues to exist, then the disease will keep engulfing the huge number of innocent lives relentlessly.”

The patients with thalassemia major, the most common inherited blood disorder in the world, need treatment and blood transfusion for their whole lives. This life-long process is full of miseries and anguishes for the patient and is also the cause of everlasting concern for their parents. In Pakistan, there are around 100,000 thalassemia major patients and every year about 8,000 children take birth with thalassemia major. Almost, 14 to 17 children with thalassemia major are born per diem, displaying shocking situation.

To provide treatment and blood to the colossal number of patients of thalassemia and such other diseases that require regular supply of blood for the survival of the patients, a small network of public and private sector blood banks and thalassemiacenters has been establishedin the country. Almost all of the banks and centers have been setup in some urban big cities, which also are incapable to meet the requirementsof blood and treatment because of the limited stock of blood and other resources present at them.

Though during the calamities, the response of the public towards voluntary activities has been fabulous and awe-inspiring yet the national response to blood management system has been disappointing and insufficient. Because of the non-availability of proper blood storage system and transportation facilities in many of the country’s public and private sector hospitals, a mammoth quantity of the collected blood is squandered.

The surprising fact is that every year only 28 of 10,000 Pakistanis donate blood and over 90 percent of them are close relatives and friends of the patients

The surprising fact is that every year only 28 of 10,000 Pakistanis donate blood and over 90 percent of them are close relatives and friends of the patients. Amidst other reasons, the main reason why people are unwilling to donate their blood is the lack of awareness among them about the advantages and importance of donating blood. Many of the people believe that donating blood is injurious to health, even though, donating blood regularly is healthy practice. According to Dr TahirShamsi, a professor of Haematology, “Donating blood is not only helping the ailing humanity but it also prevents the person from various diseases including HIV and hepatitis B and C.” The National Health Service, a UK based health organization, reports on its website that a fit and healthy person aged between 17 and 66 years with body weight over 50 kilo-grams can give blood, male after every 12 weeks and female after every 16 weeks.

In Pakistan’s recent history, a spate of both natural and man-made disasters such as earth-quakes, floods, suicide bombings has smashed it dangerously, killing and injuring thousands of people. A large group of people have been seen coming forward to help the affected people in whatever way they can and most commonly they have been generous in donating their blood. But, unfortunately, Pakistan has failed in sustaining this enthusiasm of people during its normal conditions. Because of the failure, the patients of thalassemia and other deadly diseases have been facing the acute shortage of blood, which is inevitably needed to them to survive in this world. The WHO’s report reveals that globally 112.5 million blood donations are made annually. In Pakistan, because of the lack of a blood donor recruitment and retention strategy, the concept of voluntary non-remunerated donors is significantly missing in the country.

In Sindh, the then Governor,Dr IshratulIbad, had promulgated the Sindh Prevention and Control of Thalassemia Ordinance, 2013 with objective to prevent the spread of the dangerous disease to huge number of children. It was said that under the law Thalassemia foundation will be set-up, the task of which will be to promote, develop and finance Thalassemia centers across the province for the prevention and treatment of thalassemia. Unfortunately, not unlike many laws, the law has yet not been implemented as no single public sector center has been established in the Province.

To build a culture of voluntary blood donations, Pakistan should introduce awareness programmes in colleges, universities, public libraries and other public places and on electronic and print media in collaboration with civil society organizations and International donor agencies. The systematic initiativeis to be launched for recruiting voluntary blood donors. Moreover, the establishment of blood banks and thalassemia centers equipped with the updated and effective blood management system and manned with specialists in public sector hospitals in all districts of the country to cater to ever-growing requirement of blood and treatment of the disease should be necessitated.

The writer is an academic, and can be reached on Twitter @ARShykh

Published in Daily Times, August 15^th 2017.