KARACHI: Pakistan’s first “hub-and-spoke” blood banking network has been established under a partnership between the provincial government and the Indus Hospital & Health Network (IHHN).

Anchored by the Regional Blood Centre, Jamshoro and connected to eight hospital blood banks across Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas Divisions — all certified with the ISO 15189 international standard — it is said to be the largest “safe-blood network” in Pakistan’s public sector.

The network links blood banks at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) hospitals in Jamshoro and Hyderabad, Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology, and district hospitals of Thatta, Mirpurkhas, Matiari, Badin and Mithi, to the Regional Blood Centre in Jamshoro.

According to officials, the network is built with the assistance of the government of Germany through the KfW Development Bank under Pakistan’s Safe Blood Transfusion Programme (SBTP).

The SBTP set out the regional blood centre and hospital blood bank hub-and-spoke model as a national standard for safe, centralised blood provision.

The Jamshoro network is the first in Pakistan to bring this model into full operation.

The development was marked at the Indus Zindagi Voluntary Blood Donor Recognition Ceremony held on Friday at a local hotel where voluntary donors, partner organisations, educational institutions and community champions, whose contributions sustain the network and save thousands of lives each year, were honoured.

Special recognition went to regular voluntary donors of rare blood groups, who are enabling the local production of red-cell reagents for the first time in Pakistan — a step towards national self-reliance, built for the people and by the people of Pakistan.

Welcoming the guests, Dr Abdul Bari Khan, President & CEO of IHHN, expressed his gratitude to the thousands of voluntary donors and partner organisations whose support has made Indus Zindagi a nationwide movement.

“Every bag of donated blood represents hope, compassion, and a second chance at life. At IHHN, where healthcare is provided free of cost, voluntary blood donors are an indispensable part of our mission. Their selfless contributions enable us to save thousands of lives every year.

“Together with our valued partners, we are building a culture where voluntary blood donation becomes a shared social responsibility. I encourage every healthy individual to become a regular blood donor and help ensure that no patient is deprived of timely treatment due to a shortage of blood,” said Dr Khan.

Later, Dr Saba Jamal, Senior Director of the Blood Transfusion Services Directorate at the IHHN, outlined the scale and future direction of the network. Operating under public-private partnership, the IHHN’s blood transfusion services serve more than 9,000 hospital beds, collect around 250,000 donations a year, and provide safe blood to more than 700,000 patients annually.

“This network shows that safe, centrally managed blood banking can be delivered at scale within Pakistan’s public sector,” said Dr Jamal.

“With the first regional network now complete, our focus turns to extending full coverage across the Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas Divisions, so that no patient in the public sector is left without safe blood.”

In his remarks, additional health secretary Ghulam Hassan Bughio, also the chief guest, reiterated the Sindh government’s commitment to strengthening healthcare across the province through landmark initiatives, including safe blood transfusion services delivered through four regional blood centres under a public-private partnership.

Expressing his satisfaction at the completion of the initial network, he affirmed the government’s intent to expand the provision of safe blood to all public-sector hospitals, and welcomed the goal of achieving full coverage of the Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions with additional budgetary support.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2026