‘Around 245,000 blood donations made in Karachi every year’

Doctors encourage people to donate blood and save lives

KARACHI: More than 245,000 blood donations are made in Karachi every year to treat patients for regular blood transfusions and in emergency cases.

Out of these 45,000 per year are donated at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), and more than 100,000 at Husaini Blood Bank, Patients Welfare Association (PWA) and Civil Hospital.



These estimates were shared by JPMC pathology associate professor Dr Muhammad Anwar while speaking to The Express Tribune on the occasion of World Blood Donors Day, celebrated across the globe on June 14. According to World Health Organisation's (WHO) website, this year's theme is 'Blood Connects Us all.'

"Unpaid and voluntary donations must be increased rapidly in more than half  of the world's countries in order to ensure a reliable supply of safe blood for patients whose lives depend on it" says the note on WHO's website.



In our society blood donation is mostly preferred from family members however globally voluntary donations are encouraged from everyone, said Dr Anwar. "Families are in a state of panic when they look for donors amongst them in an emergency situation," he said, adding that as a society we should motivate our people to donate voluntarily.

He also said that in Pakistan cases of thalassemia are on the rise as pre-marital screenings are not encouraged.



On the same note, Dr Muhammad Shariq of hematology department at Aga Khan University Hospital said that Pakistan has a 7% thalassemia carrier weight of thalassemia minor, which then leads to high number of children being born with thalassemia major each year.

Dr Shariq further added that globally disease screening in blood tend to vary, depending on the prevalence of disease in particular regions. "In our region, there is more prevalence of hepatitis B and C, HIV, syphilis and malaria that is why testing is done for these diseases," he said.

On blood donation day he said, that one blood donation can save up to three lives. "There is no alternative to blood. It is indeed a gift of life," he added.

Speaking about significance of blood donation, Dr Ziaur Rahman of Fatimid Foundation said "Blood donation is of extreme importance as there is no alternative to blood." There are innumerable lives that solely depend on donations, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2016.