Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: As the country marks the World Blood Donor’s Day today (Wednesday), the affairs of the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme (SBTP) has not been streamlined despite the passage of several years, Daily Times has learnt.

Every year on June 14, the World Blood Donor’s Day is celebrated globally. The event, established in 2004, serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.

To enhance the capacity-building of the blood donations, appropriate transferring of blood and create maximum awareness among the public regarding this, a central Safe Blood Transfusion Project (SBTP) Authority was established in 2010.

The SBTP was funded by government of Germany. As per plan, the German government had contributed around Rs 1,759 million for the construction of Regional Blood Centres (RBCs) across the country with the aim to upgrade and renovate blood banks in hospitals, training of personnel and the financing of voluntary blood donor motivation campaigns.

According to the plan, the SBTP was a central entity that supposed to oversee all Regional Blood Centres. The Regional Blood Centres were responsible to look after the all affairs of the hospital blood banks functioning both in public as well as in the private sector.

Sources said that the SBTP should be working under the Ministry of National Health Services Coordination and Regulation (NHSCR) after the passage of the 18th Amendment.

“However, it has been placed under the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD). On the other hand, the Islamabad Blood Transfusion Authority (IBTA) has been placed under the control of the NHSCR even though it should be under the control of CADD,” the official said.

Dr Hassan Abbass was appointed head of the SBTP. Interestingly, he holds three administrative positions in various public sector health institutions.

Besides heading the SBTP, Dr Abbass is serving as in-charge of Blood Bank at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) as well as head of Islamabad Blood Transfusion Authority.

Moreover, the efficiency of the SBTP has not improved despite the expenditure of millions. It has not even established its own office yet. Currently, SBTP runs its official affairs in a residential house located in Sector F-7, Islamabad.

Furthermore, several incidents have raised questions about its performance. Recently, two children were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Islamabad.

Two siblings, aged 7 and 8, were brought to the Capital Hospital for treatment as they were suffering from platelet functional disorder (haemophilia). After the negative testing of HIV/Aids in their parents, it was declared by the doctors that the HIV/AIDS in the siblings was caused by transfusion of unsafe and contaminated blood.

According to a doctor at Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH), other than blood tests, 58,914 persons were tested for Hepatitis B and C, out of which 684 were diagnosed with Hepatitis B and 2,059 with Hepatitis-C. The statistics show that the performance of the Islamabad Blood Transfusion Authority (IBTA) has been far from satisfactory.

There are total of 60 blood banks in Islamabad both in the public and private sector.

Health experts said that beside the cerebration of world days, the actual purpose of their establishment should not be ignored.

When contacted, SBTP chief Dr Hassan Abbass said that there was no problem in functioning of the programme as well as IBTA. “After the 18th Amendment, SBTP was placed under the CADD. IBTA is functioning under NHSCR,” he said.

To a question, he said that he had been assigned extra duties by the competent authority.