SAHIWAL: The Sahiwal Teaching Hospital has successfully regained its licence to operate a blood bank, following approval from the Blood Transfusion Authority.

The hospital also received a donation of a state-of-the-art Chemiluminescence Immunoassay Analyzer (CLIA) from the Institute of Blood Transfusion Services (IBTS). This advanced diagnostic machine was secured through the personal efforts of STH Medical Superintendent Dr. Yadullah and Project Director at IBTS Dr. Shabnam.

The CLIA analyzer is a highly sensitive laboratory instrument designed to detect a wide range of communicable diseases and measure biomarkers associated with various medical conditions. It operates by initiating a chemical reaction that emits light, and then measures the intensity of that light to determine the concentration of target substances in the sample.

The CLIA system is considered essential for any teaching hospital, particularly for its role in diagnosing and monitoring cardiac conditions. It is also capable of detecting autoimmune disorders such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and autoimmune thyroid diseases. Additionally, the machine can be used to screen for and monitor various types of cancer.

Licence was cancelled after ‘theft’ of blood bags a few years back

In another milestone, the Sahiwal Institute of Cardiology recently inaugurated its new Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab), alongside the installation of an additional CT scan unit within the hospital premises.

It merits mentioning that a few years ago, the hospital’s blood bags were stolen and later discovered at a private facility located adjacent to hospital premises. The incident was uncovered by the Punjab Healthcare Commission, leading to the cancellation of the hospital’s blood bank licence at the time. Notably, over the past six months, the hospital has compiled an inventory of more than 2,000 biomedical equipment items to ensure proper documentation and prevent future theft or misplacement from its premises.

PHILOSOPHY TEXTBOOKS: The Philosophy textbooks for 11th and 12th grades recommended by the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) are currently unavailable in the market, including Urdu Bazaar Lahore and other major cities across Punjab.

Publishers and booksellers at Urdu Bazaar said both titles were out of stock and undergoing reprinting since long enough. The last known batch—comprising 1,000 copies — was published in the 2017-18 academic year. That stock has now been fully exhausted.

Javed Iqbal Nadeem, author of both textbooks Origin of Philosophy (Grade 11) and Logic (Grade 12), confirmed to Dawn that no new editions had been printed since that final batch. Sources revealed that the textbooks are currently unavailable in Lahore, Narowal, Shakargarh, Multan, DG Khan, Sahiwal and Sargodha.

The students enrolled in intermediate with Philosophy as optional subject option at both public and private colleges are facing significant challenges in acquiring the prescribed textbooks.

Representatives from Ilmi Kitab Ghar, Lahore and Shahzad Book Depot, Sahiwal also confirmed the shortage and stated that reprinting has been pending for an extended period.

Dr Qasir Mahmood of the Philosophy Department of Government Graduate Science College, Wahdat Road, Lahore, told Dawn that the shortage in Urdu Bazaar ahd directly impacted availability across the province as most supplies were routed from Lahore. Repeated attempts by this correspondent to contact the director of production of the PCTB went unanswered.

The PCTB is responsible for issuing publication orders to its approved contractors for these textbooks.

The last editions were printed by Islami Kutab Khana through Lasani Press Club, Lahore.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2025