Academy
TransFusion 2023: Revitalizing Blood Banking in Pakistan
Shabneez Hussain
Indus Hospital & Health Network, Karachi, Pakistan
Javeria Aijaz
Indus Hospital & Health Network, Karachi, Pakistan
Saba Jamal
Indus Hospital & Health Network, Karachi, Pakistan
The Safe Blood Transfusion Programme, a Pakistan-German Joint Project initiated in 2007 resulted in the establishment of 15 Regional Blood Centers (RBCs) and 83 Hospital Blood Banks (HBBs), with legislative reforms, addressing the fragmented, demand-driven, and unsafe blood transfusion services. Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN) organized an international conference “TransFusion 2023” on the 29th of October 2023, to celebrate achievements, address future challenges, goals and opportunities in blood transfusion services in Pakistan.
Watch the workshop video
Endorsed by ISBT and Pakistan Society of Haematology, it featured eminent and renowned international and national speakers, bringing together the Pakistani blood banking community. Accredited by Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, this hybrid conference attracted around 200 delegates including dignitaries, policy makers, hematologists, technologists and blood banking specialists in public and private sectors from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Gilgit, Turbat, Quetta, Skardu, Bahawalpur, Multan, Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Sukkur, Jamshoro, Dera Ismail Khan, Mirpur, Swat, Abbottabad and Faisalabad, with online participation from Australia and France.
This conference was preceded by two parallel pre-conference workshops on the 28th October, 2023. The workshop on “Mobilizing Voluntary Blood Donations In Low And Middle Income Countries”, endorsed by Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine and Turkish Blood Foundation, was facilitated by Dr. Mahtab Maghsudlu (Vice President, Research and Education, High Institution for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Iran) and Dr. Nuri Solaz (Executive Board Member, Turkish Blood Foundation and Vice President, Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine) with 44 participants. The interactive workshop focused on essentials of blood donor recruitment and recruiter, experience of Iran and Türkiye in mobilization of youth towards voluntary donation and blood donor recruitment. In addition, blood donor recruitment activities in Pakistan were discussed with group presentations. The other workshop addressed “Serological Challenges in Blood Banking – Finding the Right Blood” and included dry and practical challenges, attended by 18 participants and facilitated by hematologists and technologists.
Group photo
Dr. Zafar Mirza, Former State Minister of Health and Former Director, Health System Development, WHO was the chief guest and His Excellency Mr. Alfred Grannas, Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany to Pakistan was the guest of honor who gave the plenary talk on “German Support for Pakistan's Health Sector”, followed by a speech on “Pakistan Blood Safety Reforms and German Support” by Dr. Masuma Zaidi, Senior Sector Specialist, Health KfW .
The first session was dedicated to “Fostering Voluntary Blood Donations” with experiences shared by Dr. Mahtab Maghsudlu, on “Inspiring Transformation: Iran's Journey to 100% Voluntary Blood Donation”, Dr. Nuri Solaz, on “Forging Progress: Advancements in Turkish Voluntary Blood Donation” and Dr. Saba Jamal, Senior Director, Blood Transfusion Services, Indus Hospital & Health Network, on “Driving Change: Progress and Challenges in Voluntary Blood Donations in Pakistan.”
The second session on “Plasma Fractionation: Expanding Horizon” included a presentation on “Plasma Fractionation: A Means to Improve National Transfusion System” by Dr. Nuzhat Mushahid, Hematologist & CEO, P First Solutions. Dr. Yuyun Maryuningsih, Team Lead for Blood and other Products of Human Origin, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland enlightened the audience on “Closing the Gap: Enabling Self-Sufficiency in Plasma-Derived Medicines for Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs)” informed the audience about the inclusion of plasma derived medicinal products to the essential medicines list by WHO and elaborated the requirements for plasma fractionation. Dr. Thierry Burnouf, Distinguished Professor, Taipei Medical University and Member, Global Blood Safety WP, ISBT, provided vital guidance on stepwise “Access to Safe Plasma Proteins: How to Reach the Horizon?”
The third session focused on “Strategic Directions: Shaping the Future of Blood Banking in Pakistan”. Mr. Mostafa Moghaddam, Head of Immunohematology Reference Laboratory, Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, shared his expertise on “Building a Lifeline: Establishing a Rare Blood Inventory - The Need of the Hour”. Ms. Elaine Williamson, Director, Diagnostic Manufacturing Division, American Red Cross, USA presented details regarding indigenous production of reagents, focusing on “Unlocking Compliance: Regulatory and Resource Requirements for Blood Bank Reagent Production”. Prof. Dr. Bushra Moiz, Hematologist, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University and Hospital provided her insight and data on “Raising the Bar: Developing and Implementing Standards for Quality Blood Banking in Pakistan”.
The final panel discussion on “Navigating the Roadblocks: Challenges in Safe Blood Banking in the Public and Private Sector in Pakistan” identified the major challenges including connectivity of HBBs to the RBCs, lack of skilled human resource and consistent availability of funds. It was further concluded that the RBC and HBB networks operationalized and managed under Public-Private Partnerships in Punjab and Sindh, were successful in meeting and exceeding targets with implementation of safe blood transfusion, further emphasizing the need for replication in other provinces.
Finally, the blood transfusion community of Pakistan resolved to unite and lead the way in the universal implementation of concrete measures that guarantee SAFE BLOOD for ALL!
