PESHAWAR: Private blood banks asked to register within 15 days
By Our Correspondent
PESHAWAR, Feb 27: The NWFP health department has asked the private blood banks to register themselves with the Health Regulatory Authority (HRA) within a period of two weeks.
The HRA established under the "NWFP Medical and Health Institutions Regulation of Healthcare Services Ordinance 2002,” issued these directives on Tuesday, said a handout.
The authority has urged the registered blood banks to maintain minimum safety standards. It said that the HRA had already arranged a six weeks intensive course for the staff of the registered private blood banks for improving their services.
It has warned that those blood banks who failed to meet minimum safety standards will be dealt with strictly and apart from closing such blood banks, a fine of up to Rs1 million or imprisonment up to seven years or both will also be awarded to them.
HEPATITIS: The World Health Organisation has expressed concern over the rising cases of Hepatitis in the country and has asked the government for universal vaccination against the disease.
WHO officials said that Hepatitis B and C were viral infections that lead to chronic liver diseases and cancer.
They said that Pakistan had three per cent prevalence rate of chronic diseases and five per cent cancer of liver or liver cirrhosis that ultimately kills patients.
They said there is a dire need for the universal implementation of the Blood Safety Ordinance, and there is an urgent need for screening facilities at blood banks to save the people from Hepatitis.
According to them about 250 studies conducted at the country’s premier health institutions on the disease had shown that Pakistan has 3.4 per cent hepatitis B and 5-6 per cent Hepatitis C patients.
If this is not controlled at this stage, half of the population will be cirrhotic in the next 15 years, they said. A simple cure lies in vaccination against hepatitis-B.
The main reason for Hepatitis B and C was the use of contaminated syringes, unsafe blood transfusions, etc.
To stem the tide of the killer ailment, the World Health Organisation has called for universal vaccination against Hepatitis B, especially for children and high risk groups, such as health workers, drug addicts, jail inmates, etc.
A letter entitled “essential health interventions”, addressed to the Ministry of Health, Islamabad, by the World Health Organisation last month had also recommended measures required to prevent the disease from further spreading.
It has recommended adopting safe injection practices in all health facilities, including public and private sectors. According to the officials, the WHO had conducted a study in Buner and Naushera districts two years ago regarding Hepatitis and it was learnt that 30 per cent of the cause for the disease in these two districts was reusing syringes.
Officials said that there was no such study about the other causes of the spread of the ailment but said that unsafe and unscreened blood transfusion at the hospitals was also one of the major reasons for Hepatitis.
An official said that even the blood banks in the public sector do not have screening facilities, and added that recently an inspection carried out by the health department had shown that 30 blood banks in the private sector did not have screening facilities.
He said that unlike Hepatitis B and C which were caused by blood, A and E were caused by the consumption of contaminated water.
He said that water purification plants should be installed in different cities.
