On the direction of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Regional Blood Centres at divisional level are being established and construction of two RBCs at Multan and Bahawalpur has been completed which would be inaugurated very soon.
Every RBC would be attached with six public sector hospitals of that region to provide screened and healthy blood to the patients. For this purpose, a comprehensive blood donor data base would be prepared and a blood line would also be introduced with the help of Punjab Information Technology Board to facilitate the needy persons.
It was stated by Advisor on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while presiding over a meeting of the committee constituted by the chief minister to establish RBCs on Monday.
Besides Additional Chief Secretary Punjab Shumail Ahmed Khawaja, Secretary Health Jawwad Rafique Malik, Members Punjab Assembly Mehmood Leghari and Dr Aalia Aftab, Director Punjab Institute of Blood Transfusion Service Dr Zafar Iqbal, Dr Arif Tabasam, Professor of Hematology PGMI Dr Nauman and the officers of PITB also attended the meeting. The meeting was informed that PC-I of RBC Faisalabad has already been approved whereas two Regional Blood Centres would be established in Lahore one in Jinnah Hospital and the other would be set up at some other place. It was informed that every year three RBCs would be established for ensuring provision of healthy blood to the patients.
Salman Rafique said that RBCs of Multan and Bahawalpur would be run on the pattern of Indus Blood Centre Karachi. He said Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted committees in each division consisting of elected public representatives. These committees would launch awareness campaign among the masses regarding the importance of blood donation so that a young blood donor data base could be prepared and donors could donate blood on voluntarily basis. Rafique said that Blood Transfusion Authority is also being activated to regulate public as well as private sector blood banks in Punjab. In this connection amended draft law of Punjab Safe Blood Transfusion Act 2015 has been prepared and sent to the cabinet for its approval.
Additional Chief Secretary Shumail Ahmed Khawaja said that public sector blood banks would be made model for private blood banks and there would be uniform law and policy for all the blood banks. Health Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik informed that expert of Indus Hospital and Blood Bank Karachi Prof Saba Jamal will come to Lahore and with the consultation of Prof Saba Jamal final recommendations would be presented to Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the scheme would be implemented speedily.
