Beware of ‘fake platelets’, warn officials

Amid rise in dengue cases, scammers are selling 'fake platelets’ for as much as Rs40,000 a bag

KARACHI:

Some unscrupulous elements are playing with the lives of people in the name of providing 'mega-platelets' against higher prices, whereas the substance they provide is not platelets, said Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority Director Dr Dure Naz Jamal.

Platelet transfusion is used to prevent heavy bleeding in patients of dengue hemorrhagic fever, especially if their platelet count drops to dangerous levels, she said.

Karachi has been in the grip of vector-borne disease for the past couple of months as cases have been multiplying fast. With the increasing dengue caseload, common fever-reducing medicines, mosquito nets as well mosquito repellents have become scarce in the city.

The rise in cases has also created a shortage of platelets in hospitals, blood banks and laboratories. Taking advantage of the situation, fraudsters have decided to make money at the cost of human lives, The Express Tribune has learnt. They are selling a bag of "fake mega platelets" for as much as Rs40,000.

Dr Dure Naz has warned people to beware of these scammers and purchase platelets only from authorised and registered blood banks.

As per Dow Diagnostic Research and Reference Laboratory Molecular Pathology head Professor Dr Saeed Khan, platelets, which circulate within the blood, are the essential mediators that trigger the mechanical pathway of the coagulation cascade upon encountering any damage to the blood vessels.

He explained that there are two kinds of platelets: mega platelets and manual platelets, they said. There are a few blood banks and private hospitals in the city which could sell "mega platelets" because the machine used for extracting them is very expensive. Therefore, blood banks and hospitals mostly prefer manual platelets.

The expert said that manual platelets are effective but not as much as mega platelets are in preventing heavy bleeding in dengue patients with critically low platelets counts. Dr Saeed Khan further said that manual platelets are also less effective in the dengue virus variant prevalent in the city.

The sharp upsurge in dengue cases has created an acute shortage of mega platelets in the metropolitan city.

The experts said that donations from four to six donors are required to prepare one bag of mega platelets, while the time period required for this purpose is several hours. For this very reason, hardly a few patients can find mega platelets at blood banks every day, they added.

Taking advantage of this situation, a "blood bank mafia" has become active to make money at the cost of human lives, sources told The Express Tribune. They are selling "fake mega platelets" to patients for as much as Rs31,000 to Rs45,000 per bag, said Rizwan Ahmed, an attendant of a patient.

"A man named Imran approached me in the hallway of the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital and offered a bag of mega platelets for Rs40,000. I fell for the scam," Riwan said adding, however my uncles platelet count further dropped from 20,0000 to 15,000 after the infusion.

"The fraudster had sold me some substance which could be anything but platelets," Rizwan told The Express Tribune.

Medical experts are not sure what is being sold by these scammers in the name of mega platelets. "This could be hazardous for patients because nobody knows what they are selling," one expert told The Express Tribune.

"Certified blood banks and hospitals test donors' blood for six diseases, including hepatitis, before extracting mega platelets, but fake blood banks do not conduct any such tests," the expert added. "This makes their product even dangerous as it could create further complications instead of treating dengue patients."

The Express Tribune correspondent, while posing as an attendant of a dengue patient, approached Imran a purported representative of a "fake blood bank" at the Civil Hospital who agreed to provide "mega platelets" at the rate of Rs40,000 per bag without a donor. "We will give you a receipt of 'Pak Blood Bank' where they are prepared," the rep said.

He further said that if bought directly from the university, it would cost more. He said that he would charge less because he was "someone from inside". "Give me a blood sample of your patient and doctor's receipt along with some money in advance and I shall deliver platelets in the Civil Hospital or wherever you want," the rep told The Express Tribune.

When approached, Dr Dure Naz, said that "Pak Blood Bank is not on the list of registered blood banks. Such cases have been reported to us in the past too," she said while advising people to acquire mega platelets from registered blood banks only. "We take action against fake blood banks whenever we receive any complaint," she added.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2022.