Unscreened blood coursing through veins

LAHORE: The majority of private blood banks do not check blood for diseases like HIV and hepatitis before selling blood bags to people, sources in the government’s Blood Transfusion Department (BTD) told Daily Times. They said that blood should be screened for HIV and hepatitis B and C before it is sold to people.

“This is happening in Lahore where diseases can easily spread because 75 percent of the city’s water is contaminated,” sources said, “People are being put at risk because when a person donates or sells blood, it is not screened for HIV or hepatitis.” Around 40 private blood banks are operating in Lahore without being monitored by government authorities, because of which blood screening is not considered important.

Expensive HIV kits also account for the lack of blood screening, since a box of 100 HIV strips costs around Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 while hepatitis B and C strips cost Rs 20 and Rs 40.

“HIV strips cannot be used for more than a year, therefore private blood banks do not spend money on them and sell unscreened blood,” said a BTD official.

“Screening blood for diseases costs Rs 700 to Rs 1,000 and if the price of the blood bought from donors is added, the cost of a blood bag for banks reaches Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500,” said paediatrician Dr Naveed Mustafa.

“Drug addicts are the main source for banks willing to buy blood cheap,” said haematologist Dr Rafi Butt, “Several addicts use the same syringe to inject drugs and it is a known fact that HIV spreads through the reuse of syringes, therefore blood screening is compulsory.” “Drug addicts who need money sell their blood frequently and it becomes more easy for addicts if they have a rare blood group like O negative,” he added.

“Blood banks do not require much investment to operate and owners do not have to register themselves or get a license,” a Health Department official said, adding that it was necessary to monitor such blood banks.

Private blood banks are understaffed and have no mechanism for maintenance of their equipment, sources said, “Some of the private banks are run by illiterate people who are hired for low wages.” “Such people are only capable of getting a blood sample by using a syringe and the situation is even worse in remote areas,” said haematologist Dr Mazharur Rehman.

BTD officials said there were 61 official blood banks in Punjab, but there were also 230 operational private or unregistered banks. “Lahore has 13 official blood banks where blood is screened but there is no record for private banks in this regard,” they said.

Bags of positive groups of screened blood are sold for Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 while unscreened blood is sold for Rs 400 to Rs 600. “A negative group is more expensive than positive groups,” said an official, “Screened blood of negative groups is sold for Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 and if it is not screened, it costs around Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500.”

Abdul Haq whose daughter was suffering from thalessaemia, said he bought bags of A Positive blood from a private bank for Rs 500, but he was not sure if the blood was screened. The Blood Transfusion Department had arranged a workshop at its head office in Lahore (Jail Road) in collaboration with a non-government organisation, Global Fund, to educate blood bank officials on blood screening, said Dr Salman Shahid from Global Fund.

“Private blood banks need special attention and NGOs should step forward to fulfil their duty in this regard,” he said, “We have invited the owners of all the private blood banks, technicians and attendants from Punjab.” He said the workshop was aimed at getting 95 percent of the blood in registered banks screened. According to a World Bank report, around 40 percent of the annual 1.5 million blood transfusions in Pakistan are not screened for HIV.

Aritcle Posted By By Nauman Tasleem

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