KARACHI, March 2: The City District Government of Karachi is in the process of setting up a centralised blood bank to deal with any emergency need during outbreak of diseases or accidents and disasters, said health department sources.

Likely to go functional in three to four months, the blood bank would cost around Rs130 million and provide three different safe blood component packs to people on subsidised rates, added a source, saying that the bank is being established in the office of defunct DMC (East) premises near Quaid-i-Azam mausoleum.

It was learnt that high standard machines and analysers were being imported for the purpose from abroad while a plan for new building had almost been finalised. The central bank would have some satellite centres as well.

Loss of blood put lives of patients at stake and they solely depend on volunteer blood donors in absence of any centralised blood bank, the sources said adding that the proposed would provide a good store of safe and separated-out blood components, packed cells, platelets and plasma needed to fight against infections, help heal wounds and meet other medical needs.

Sources said heavy reimbursement being made by the government to private blood centres for their services to patients in the wake of dengue epidemic had also made the government to think for setting up its exclusive collection and supply establishment.

Confirming the bank project, Executive District Officer (Health) Dr A.D. Sajnani told Dawn that efforts were being made to start the bank with around 1,000 packs drawn from human blood completely screened against diseases like hepatitis and AIDS in order to meet the needs generated in times of emergencies.

It would be run through donations from healthy volunteers on exchange basis and not through professional blood donors, he added and expressed hope that the bank would start functioning in June. He said all related works were being completed at a fast pace to meet any crisis.

“We have decided to run the bank on no profit and no loss basis and estimate that our blood packs would be available to people at almost half of the market price,” he added, informing that no one would be deprived of any blood supply for his or her inability to pay the cost of blood.