KARACHI: Over 2,000 blood bags donated by Pakistan Peoples Party workers were transfused into registered child thalassaemia patients on Friday during the ‘Mega Blood Transfusion’ arranged at Expo Centre by the health department and the Peoples Doctors Forum.

More than 1,000 blood bags were also provided to poor patients simultaneously in Badin, Nawabshah, Sukkur and other cities in the interior of Sindh under the same blood transfusion drive.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said PPP leader Benazir Bhutto had sacrificed her life for the country and its workers had donated their blood for thalassaemia patients and Pakistan Army soldiers to pay tribute to Ms Bhutto’s sacrifices on her birth anniversary.

“This is an annual practice of the PPP and its Doctors Forum to help poor patients, especially thalassaemia patients and Pakistan army soldiers, who always are engaged in fighting enemies of Pakistan,” the chief minister said.

Mr Shah said that the major share of 20,000 donated blood bags had been provided to the Pakistan Army soldiers in operation of Zarb-i-Azb with a view to supporting and showing solidarity with them.

“We fully support the decision of the army and the federal government for launching the Zarb-i-Azb operation against the terrorists in North Waziristan. The Sindh government and the PPP extended all help whatever needed in this operation,” he added.

Earlier the chief minister was warmly welcomed by thalassaemia patients and their parents with slogans and presented with a flower bouquet and asked to continue this practice each year.

The chief minister was accompanied by his political co-ordinator Muhammad Siddique Abu Bhai, special assistants Waqar Mehdi, Rashid Rabbani and PDF president Senator Dr Karim Khawaja.

The chief minister visited the hall of the Expo Centre and met patients and their parents and organisers of blood transfusion event.

President of PDF Senator Karim Khawaja said over 3,000 thalassaemia children were transfused blood simultaneously in Karachi, Badin Nawabshah and Sukkur.

“We have contacted the Guinness Book of World Record team and also sent them the record of blood donations, screening, collection and transfusion to register our name as per procedure,” he added.

Focal person of the campaign Dr Sabir Memon said 5,000 blood bags had already been donated to different healthcare centres.

He said blood would expire if it could not be utilised within 28 days and said that they had contacted the army to donate blood as per requirement of Combined Military Hospitals.

A delegation headed by Senator Dr Khawaja, health secretary Iqbal Durrani, and a representative of health department handed over 20,000 blood bags to Pakistan Army here at the corps headquarters on Friday, an announcement added.

On behalf of the army, Brigadier Nadeem Anjum thanked the delegation and said the army would defeat terrorists with the support of the nation.

Published in Dawn, June 28th , 2014