KARACHI, Aug 25: Apathetic and non-responding attitude of blood banks in getting registration with Sindh Blood Bank Authority (SBBA) is continue despite repeating the registration date by SBBA twice in last two months, in order to ensure safe blood transfusion to people by effective screening.

The authority had fixed July 31, 2003, as the last date for registration of blood bank, however keeping in view the low response from blood banks, the authority again extended the date till Aug 31.

The SBBA is responsible for screening and safe blood transfusion in the province since the year 1997, after promulgation of Sindh Safe Blood Transfusion Act 1997.

However, since its inception the authority could not succeed in registering a single blood bank for different reasons, of which the lethargic attitude of authority in decision making was also one.

According to the authority, as many as 3,000 blood banks are functioning across the province. In the wake of media campaign launched by the authority, only 60 blood banks applied for registration.

Unsafe blood transfusion is still continue without any check, which is causing a serious threat for general people, and infectious diseases like Hepatitis-B and C, HIV and AIDS are spread through unsafe blood transfusion.

According to the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation sources, the number of end-stage liver disease is increasing fast due to high prevalence rate in Hepatitis-B and causing an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 deaths per year in the country. Screening of blood products and vaccination for Hepatitis-B could help reducing the number of diseases, experts said.

The scenario as mentioned above is mainly attributable to problems of viral hepatitis in the country, aggravated due to lack of planning, lack of awareness and apathy of the opinion leaders.

Contaminated water is the biggest source for the transmission of Hepatitis-A and E, whereas Hepatitis-B is spread by the way side dentists, barbers, re-use of syringes by medical practitioners and in hospitals.

About 95 per cent of all the injections administered to patients in both public and private health centres, are given irrationally and have almost no impact on the general health of patient rather they sometimes prove fatal, revealed a study conducted by the Sindh AIDS Control Programme.—PPI