Transplant centre near completion

Rs237 million project to be inaugurated in August

LAHORE: A Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (BMTC) is being established at the Children Hospital Lahore at a cost of Rs237 million. The centre is in the final stages of its completion and is expected to be functional by next month (August).

This was stated by Adviser to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq while presiding over a meeting to review the project.

Children Hospital Institute of Child Health Dean Prof Masood Sadiq, BMTC project director Prof Tahir Shamsi, Children Hospital Medical Director Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore, Jinnah Hospital Hematology Professor Dr Fauzia Ashraf, Prof Mehfoozur Rehman from Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Punjab Blood Transfusion Authority Director Dr Iftikhar Hussain and Health (Technical) Additional Secretary Dr Salman Shahid attended the meeting.

Rathore said that training of doctors and nurses of BMTC had been completed at the Institute of Blood Diseases, Karachi. “The construction work [on the project] will be completed within next two weeks. Installation of bio-medical equipment has already been started,” he said.

Shamsi said that the centre would be completed within next few weeks. “Around 20 bone marrow transplant procedures will be conducted every year. Its capacity will be enhanced in accordance with the available resources,” he said.  “Local doctors would also be trained to run the centre independently,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2016.