SWAT: The youth should come forward and play their role in donating blood to the needy patients and raising awareness to tackle the issue of blood deficiency in the country.

This was stated by blood activists and donors while speaking in a provincial conference titled Khyber Con2021 organised by Blood Chain Pakistan under the slogan “Together for a Cause” here at Wadudia Hall in Saidu Sharif.

Civil society members, doctors and blood activists and donors participated in the event besides Blood Chain Pakistan provincial president Dr Luqman Hakim, Sher Shah Khan, Dr Bakhtyar Mohammad Shehzad, Rehan Allah Walla, Umer Iftikhar, Dr Muzammil and others.

The speakers said Pakistan was among the countries where the issue of blood deficiency was increasing day by day and it was the responsibility of the government and civil society members, including youth, to play their active role to tackle the problem.

“Anaemia, especially among women during pregnancy, occurs because of lack of awareness. With only simple, but balanced diet about 20 per cent of the anaemia issue can be resolved,” said Dr Shehzad, adding that beans, green leafy vegetables and liver must be given in the diet to women during pregnancy.

He said that over 60 per cent of pregnant women in Pakistan suffered from blood deficiency.

Blood activist Mohammad Adnan said the youth must come forward to donate blood voluntarily to the poor and needy people as they could not afford to buy blood.

“Families of patients from far-flung hilly areas search for blood donors for their patients in hospitals in Mingora and Saidu Sharif and often their patients die due to unavailability of free blood,” he said.

Dr Hakim said that patients mostly faced blood availability issue in the hospital and had to buy it at high prices. “We facilitate the poor patients in providing them free blood at the hospital,” he said, adding the conference was organised to motivate the youth for blood donation.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2021