MULTAN: German Ambassador Ina Lapel and Punjab Health Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique on Wednesday inaugurated the regional blood centre.

The centre has been set up with the financial assistance of the German government under the safe blood transfusion project of the provincial government, says a press release.

The ceremony also covered the inauguration of a similar centre in Bahawalpur. Both the centres have been completed at a cost of Rs300 million.

Ms Lapel expressed the hope that establishment of the centres would be the beginning of a new era of blood safety for the people of south Punjab.

She said the unit would serve as blood procurement and distribution centre, ensuring quality system to regulate all activities involving mobilisation and retention of voluntary and regular blood donors, maintenance of donor database, collection of blood donations as well as processing, screening, testing, component preparation and storage of the prepared components.

The minister thanked the German government for the financial support. He urged the local population especially youth to donate blood to the regional blood centres of Multan and Bahawalpur, saying as many as 11 hospitals have been linked with both centres.

According to the release, the two centres are among the 10 regional blood centres developed with the financial assistance of Rs2 billion provided by the German government. The centres are a part of nationwide network of 10 modern blood centres and up-gradation of 59 existing hospital-based blood banks all over the country in the first phase of the Safe Blood Transfusion Project.

The second phase of the project has now been started in which the scope and coverage will be expanded.

In phase-II, a new centre will be developed in Faisalabad and the up-gradation of blood banks in Mayo and Jinnah hospitals in Lahore will also take place in addition to strengthening of the existing private sector blood banks.

The 11 existing hospital blood banks have been provided with new equipment.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2017