LARKANA, April 21: Owing to illegal blood banks functioning in the region, cases of hepatitis, HIV and malaria have increased in Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts. At present, about 72 pathological laboratories are working in the two districts and only two are registered with the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority.

Responding to Sindh assembly question by MPA Humera Alwani, the EDO (health) Larkana in a letter of March 21 said that 66 blood banks in the two districts were operating illegally.

The SBTA has failed to contain the dirty business of selling contaminated blood which is the major cause of spreading Aids and multiplying HIV cases in Larkana.

Sources in the Sindh health department told Dawn on Friday that about 118 cases of Aids had been discovered in Larkana district.

Recently within a week’s time five new cases, including a boy of eight years, have been diagnosed as Aids case that speaks seriousness of the problem.

In 72 laboratories in Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts, only eight qualified pathologists are available. Of them one pathologist sits in Sukkur but his name is being used in Larkana by one of the laboratories.

The EDO health in his letter addressed to the Sindh secretary health said that the owners of the Abbas Blood Bank, Murtaza Blood Bank, Sukkur Blood Bank and Sachal Blood bank were asked to regularise their operation in line with the criteria set by the SBTA.

The Sukkur Blood Bank and Sachal Blood Bank closed their business while two continued in violation of the SBTA act.

The Murtaza Blood Bank continues its business after converting its name to Sindhu Blood Bank, the EDO health said.

A health committee during its visit on December 12, 2005 asked the Marvi Blood Bank and Shahbaz Blood Bank to close down the business.

They denied dealing with blood transfusion but health officials asked them to submit such oath on revenue stamp papers, which they declined and were still running the business, the EDO said.

The provincial programme manager of the SBTA, Dr Zahid Ansari, in a letter to the medical superintendent of the Chandka Medical College Hospital on April 3 said that only two blood banks were registered in Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts.

They are the CMCH blood bank at the central laboratory in Larkana and the Murtaza Blood Bank and Thalassaemia centre.

There is not a single regitered blood bank in Qambar-Shahdadkot district which has a population of more than one million. The official requested the authorities to make bound all government and private hospitals, medical centres and doctors to only accept blood and blood products from registered blood banks.

Deviation from it will invite legal action under the Sindh Transfusion of Safe Blood Act 1997 against hospitals and medical centres, the provincial programme manager of SBTA said.