They have introduced new methods like Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay to Chemiluminescent Immunosorbent Assay to ensure safe blood donation in karachi. Apart from this, specialized services like packed cells, fresh frozen plasma, and mega units of platelets can also be exchanged, totally free of cost. The dramatic rise in cellphone and SMS usage in Pakistan can be a solution to this problem. Baseline information on mobile phones in our study found that 98.9% of participants had a cell phone and 96.9% were comfortable using SMS. These baseline results correlate with the information released by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.
It is estimated that only in the United States, 44,000 blood donations are needed on daily basis. Even after combined efforts from the Government and International Agencies such as the Red Cross Society and the World Health Organization, the supply of safe blood is still short of global demand. The high prevalence of anemia among Pakistani blood donors signifies deteriorating health status not only in the donor population but also in the general population as well.
This is a reflection of widespread seroprevalence in the adult male population. Patient’s Aid Foundation organizes various blood camps throughout the year and delivers around 300 pints of blood every day to different wards of JPMC. In 2004, Blood Bank JPMC got registered via Sindh Safe Blood Transfusion Authority and has become one of the few registered blood banks in Sindh. It is affiliated with the National Reference Laboratory, Australia, as EQAS Program since 1997. To its credit is a Pride of Performance; Syed Abdul Mujeeb, a renowned microbiologist and head of JPMC Blood Bank, was conferred the Pride of Performance for his outstanding services in 2002. The Blood Bank at JPMC is run by the Patients’ Aid Foundation – a non-profit organization providing free-of-cost healthcare services to those who come to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.
Close-ended questions comprised the majority and important part of the questionnaire with multiple choice answers. The study has been approved by the Ethical Review Board of Dow University of Health Sciences. Each participant gave written informed consent and all their information was kept confidential. Prospective records of all the reported donors were collected from January 2014 to December 2015 at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi. The Indus Motor Company donates PKR 200,000 annually to Husaini Haematology and Oncology Trust, a non-profit health organization. Screening for HBsAg, Anti HCV, HIV Ag/Ab (HIV-1/HIV-2), and Syphilis was done by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay method on Architect i2000.
A crucial requirement in the procurement of safe blood is to have a national program for donor selection, recruitment, retention, and education; this will minimize donations from donors who might transmit diseases to the recipients. Equally important is to evaluate the burden and risk factors for TTIs in the general population. The accurate figures of TTIs in our population are still unknown due to the lack of understanding, unavailability of screening tests, limited access to health facilities, and the unavailability of surveillance systems. Furthermore, voluntary donors have been reported to be the safest group of donors because they usually have better health-seeking behavior than replacement blood donors and their intention is to donate blood to an unknown patient out of compassion. Stringent screening of blood not only gives us an idea about the prevalence of TTIs in healthy populations but also ensures the safe supply of blood and blood products.
15% on voluntary/nonremunerated and 25% on paid donations, raising serious concerns about the safety of blood supply in developing countries such as Pakistan. A possible limitation in our study is that we focused on university students only whose education and socioeconomic status are generally higher than our general population, so these results may not be applied to the general population. Behavioral intervention is defined as improving or modifying behavior for a positive impact. In our study, SMS behavioral interventions would aim at helping remove fear or improving knowledge by removing any taboo or misconception via SMS. 65.7% of the participants agreed to be part of such SMS-based behavioral interventions indicating a positive attitude.
Regarding knowledge, 46.9% of respondents didn’t know their blood groups however most of the donors (71.6%) knew that they should get their blood screened before donation. Study results showed that the practice of unpaid voluntary donation was very limited as maximum donors and recipients gave and received blood either from family members or friends/relatives as shown in Figure 1. “Today I’m donating my blood second time for the Pakistani children suffering from thalassemia. This will not only strengthen the bond between Turkey and Pakistan but will also encourage others to donate blood for those who need blood donations for living normal lives,” he said while inaugurating the blood donation drive at the Expo Center Karachi. The Turkish star Celal Al, who is extremely popular in Pakistan, also donated blood for the Thalassaemic children, second time in the last few months. He vowed to continue blood donations and working for the cause of children in the grip of blood disorders.
The ratio of female students studying in Pakistani Medical Universities is very high as compared to male students. Male participants, who did not donate, admitted that they did not feel like donating, reflecting a clear sense of nonchalance and lack of stimulation as compared to their female counterparts who wanted to donate but were not eligible to do so. These factors exhibit a high likeability to previous studies in Pakistan and other developing countries . However, one South Indian study showed no statistical difference between gender and attitude toward donating blood . 65.7% (230/350) of the total participants agreed to take part in SMS based behavioral interventions to become voluntary blood donors. The intervention could be related to removal of fear, promoting knowledge, or any other reason that may help the individual to donate blood voluntarily.
Today The Indus Hospital is a symbol of hope for the most vulnerable members of our society. It is the only initiative of its kind in Pakistan to provide premium health-care in an impressive, state-of-the art health center completely free to everyone. PAF also manages the software and conducts grouping, cross-matching and screening of blood in its own laboratory. This is all done in accordance with the highest international standards and the PAF Blood Bank is also Quality Assurance Certified from Australia. Husaini, a renowned medical institution, was established by Hasan Ali Vajid in Soldier Bazar Karachi with the help and support of Mr Hamid D. Habib, the chairman of Habib Trusts.
This goes on to prove that while technology is soaring sky high with each passing day, behavioral patterns continue to remain stagnated, therefore highlighting a dire need for effective and motivational donor recruitment programs. Recruitment of low risk voluntary blood donors is a primary solution of replenishing this shortfall in blood banks . University student populations, medical university students in particular, are considered the best candidates to become voluntary blood donors. Nevertheless, experience at blood banks suggests that not all university students voluntarily donate blood on a regular basis .
Ethical considerations were reviewed under the Institutional Review Board of Dow University of Health Sciences and found to be satisfactory. In 2004 Blood Bank JPMC got the registration from Sindh Safe Blood Transfusion Authority and has become the member of among the few registered blood banks in the province. The blood cells are always in the process of breaking and reforming, therefore, you can safely donate blood after every three months. The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to hospital ethical policy in order to protect participant confidentiality. The authors would also like to acknowledge the donor’s area for their support in conducting interviews and the ethics committee for their approval to conduct this study. It only takes about ten minutes to donate blood and ten minutes to remain in lying position for recovery and refreshment.
This requires high quality transfusion services and an organized infrastructure along with properly trained and well-educated staff . Ten pre-pandemic samples did not show COVID-19 antibodies, whereas out of 70 samples in the 3rd week of June, only 15 (21.4 %) were positive. However, in July out of the 300 blood donors, 113 (37.7 %) were found to be reactive. To reconfirm our findings, these 113 donors were then tested on ELISA for presence of IgG specifically. Out of these 128 samples, 81 were IgG positive, 23 were borderline positive and 24 were negative.
