KARACHI, June 16: The Patients Welfare Association (PWA) Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), a voluntary organisation of Dowites, has planned to expand its existing PWA blood bank facility to facilitate more poor people by reconstructing the building.

The blood bank is handling about 200 blood bags output, free of cost, on a daily basis under PWA's exchange of blood formula. However, the demand of blood is increasing with every passing day, said a PWA official, while talking to PPI on Wednesday.

He informed that PWA blood bank was established in 1982 with a capacity output from 90-100 bags per day, but with the increasing demand, the bank's output was around 200 bags daily nowadays.

The demand was, however, still on the increase, since it was providing blood free of cost not only to CHK but to patients coming to the hospital. "The existing area is unable to meet current needs, so PWA blood bank will expanded to a total area of 2,639 sq-ft including the old building," he said.

The expansion project was the second step of PWA Millennium Renovation Project launched in 2000, in which a renovated drug bank and diagnostic laboratory were inaugurated in 2002.

He said reconstruction work of building for the blood bank was started in the first week of May, 2004 and expected to complete within next six months at a cost of Rs4.2 million.

"The new building will have three receptions, blood donation area, computer room, screening area, B F unit, wide passage, waiting area for 36 persons, blood cells separator, storage room, crossing, matching area, store and washing area with toilets," he added.

"We require two blood-bags-storage freezers, 12 blood bag shakers, two platelet rotators, three blood bag sealers and two haemoglobinometers costing around millions," he said.

The PWA official added rest of the equipment was available at PWA, but they needed funds to acquire more equipment. He hoped that after completion of the expansion work, PWA would avail more space, appropriate blood storage area and would have output capacity of nearly 300 blood bags a day, screened from HIV, Hepatitis B & C and VDRL. - PPI