Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Minister of State Dr Tariq Fazal Choudhury said with the construction of the new modern blood centre in Islamabad, the residents of the metropolitan will soon have a model transfusion service delivery system.
The minister made this announcement after signing an agreement by CADD Secretary Hassan Iqbal and German KFW Bank Country Director Wolfgang Möllers for Safe Blood Transfusion Project (SBTP) for the Islamabad region on Friday.
Appreciating German government’s support for the blood project, he said that in the vicinity of the new blood centre, the government is building a large tertiary care hospital which will also benefit from the blood centre. He said that access to safe and quality blood is a key priority for the government in the health sector.
He said that SBTP is working with great commitment and dedication to implement this project and to promote the culture of voluntary blood donations in Islamabad.
The target is to have the new blood centre completely reliant on the voluntary and regular blood donations that are the safest blood donors, besides ensuring the patients are not burdened with the task of providing blood donors.
Möllers congratulated the minister on the agreement signing through which a modern blood centre will be developed for the residents of Islamabad. He said that the highest standards of construction will be maintained and latest modern equipment will be provided for this centre.
He also committed to becoming a voluntary blood donor in the new centre. He said that similar regional blood centres and hospital blood banks have been successfully developed and equipped in the first phase of the project all over the country. Now, he added, the German government is supporting the second phase of this project to expand the scope and coverage of the project in Pakistan.
SBTP Project Director Prof Hasan Abbas Zaheer informed that the German-funded Islamabad blood centre will be constructed in a central location in Islamabad in the vicinity of the new hospital, health institutes, colleges and universities. The new system, managed by a computerised management information system, will thus improve blood safety, bring the economy of scales, prevent duplication of services and rely 100 per cent on voluntary blood donations.
He added that the blood centre will develop international collaborations for training, research and development and also serve as a model for other provinces to emulate.