Crackdown on blood banks

A total of 19 blood banks in Sindh were sealed due to inferior infrastructure and poor quality of materials

It is no secret that medical facilities in our country, especially in rural areas, are unable to meet the demands of a large and unhealthy population. Government-run hospitals and medical centres tend to be underfunded and understaffed leaving the field wide open for private businesses to step in and fill the gaps. They do this at costs that are too high for most people to afford and under little supervision which can allow them to get away with shoddy practices.

As revealed during recent raids carried out by teams of the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority and the Sindh Aids Control Programme, several privately-run blood banks in Larkana and Qambar town, were providing subpar services. A total of 19 blood banks were sealed due to inferior infrastructure and poor quality of materials. In Qambar town, some blood banks were found to be using a single syringe for multiple patients, increasing the risk of transmitting disease. Sure enough, it has been discovered that 49 cases of HIV/Aids have been recently diagnosed in these districts amongst kidney patients receiving frequent blood transfusions suspected to have been caused due to the poor conditions and practices at the blood banks.

It has been decided that the raids on blood banks will continue across Sindh province and those that fail to comply with government-set criteria will face permanent closure. This is a laudable move and one which should be replicated across the country. There is a dire need to strictly regulate the medical industry in order to ensure that patients are provided the best services. Being privately owned should not be an excuse to fleece patients of their hard earned money while operating from medical centres which have the same degree of hygiene as was considered acceptable a couple of centuries ago. Both provincial and federal governments need to realise the terrible disservice that has been done to the Pakistani people by ignoring the health sector for decades on end which has resulted in rampant spread of disease and death. It is high time that authorities concerned accepted their role and rectified the situation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2016.

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