KARACHI, Jan 17: The National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD) has decided to hire the services of foreign surgeons and anaesthesiologists and other technical staff for its proposed paediatric cardio surgery unit.

This was stated by Professor Dr Azhar A Farooqui, Director of NICVD, on Wednesday.

He was talking to newsmen after performing the inauguration of a blood bank facility established at the institute with the private sector’s collaboration.

Dr Farooqui said that work on the paediatric cardiology unit was in progress and the facility for major surgery of children, including those aged one year, would soon be operational.

He said since there was a dearth of paediatric cardio-surgeons and other expertise in the country, the NICVD had planned to hire about 14 relevant staff, including two surgeons and two anaesthesiologists from abroad.

He said the institute would also set up a power generation system as well to meet its power needs.

Speaking about the blood bank branch, he said the institute after signing a memorandum of understanding with Mohammadi Blood Bank, patients requiring blood could now have quality blood bags to cater to all demands available round the clock.

According to him at present about 2,000 patients with cardiac problems were reporting daily at NICVD of which 500 are received at the emergency centre, while the remaining 1,500 patients are seen at different OPDs.

Prof Arif-ur-Rehman Khan of NICVD told Dawn that on average about 40 bags of bloods were required daily and the establishment of a blood bank branch was aimed at getting fully tested and disease free blood at the hospital’s doorstep. He said the NICVD would be involved in monitoring the blood branch’s operation at all levels, he added.

Speaking at the blood bank’s opening ceremony, a technical hand behind it, Dr M Rafiq Khanani said the bank in question was established a couple of years ago and recently granted approval for operation by Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA). Since June, 2006 the bank had issued 3,228 bags to patients at NICVD.

Mr S M Mehdi of the blood bank, Dr Zahid Ansari of SBTA and Wasey Zaidi spoke at the ceremony.