WBDD Report 2017

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REPORT

World Blood Donor Day

June 2017

Safe Blood Transfusion Programme

Government of Pakistan

WBDD Report 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Safe Blood Transfusion Programme, Government of Pakistan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written

permission of the publisher.

Published by:

Safe Blood Transfusion Programme

Government of Pakistan

Hostel A, NISTE Building, Sector H-8/1

Islamabad, Pakistan

Website: www.sbtp.gov.pk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbtp.pk

Editors

Prof. Hasan Abbas Zaheer

Usman Waheed

Akhlaaq Wazeer

Saira Tahir

Kaenat Nasir

Printed in Islamabad, Pakistan

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Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................................................................ 4

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Message Dr. Tariq Fazal Choudhury, Minister of State, Ministry of CA&DD ................................................ 6

Message Dr Mahmoud Fikri, Regional Director, Who Eastern Mediterranean Region ................................ 8

Regional Director WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region .............................................................................. 8

Message Cristiano Ronaldo__Global Ambassador for the BE THE 1Donor Movement .............................. 9

Message Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Honorary Ambassador of Blood Safety in Pakistan ........................... 9

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 10

World Blood Donor Day Celebrations and Pakistan ................................................................................... 12

Promotional Material ................................................................................................................................... 15

National Poster and Essay (English and Urdu) Competitions .................................................................... 16

Seminar and Awards Ceremony in Islamabad ............................................................................................ 21

Cricket Match between SBTP and Federal Medical and Dental College, Islamabad ................................. 24

2nd

Annual Hiking Tour “Hike for Life” at Trail 3, Islamabad ....................................................................... 26

Poster and Speech Competitions at the Shifa Tameer-i-Millat University, Islamabad ............................... 28

Seminar on Voluntary Blood Donation at the International Islamic University, Islamabad ......................... 30

Poster and Speech Competitions at the CMLT, National Institute of Health, Islamabad ........................... 32

Blood Donation Camp and Awareness Seminar at the DHQ Hospital, Mirpur, AJK .................................. 34

Blood Donation Camp organized by the Al-Shifa Foundation and Blood Bank, Mirpur, AJK ..................... 34

Baloch Blood Bank Quetta organized a blood donation camp to celebrate WBDD 2017 .......................... 35

Awareness Walk on World Blood Donor Day 2017 by the Regional Blood Centre, Quetta ....................... 36

One day Blood Camp arranged by Pashtoonkhwa Blood Bank, Quetta .................................................... 37

Blood Donation Camp organized by RBC, Gilgit to celebrate WBDD 2017 ............................................... 37

World Blood Donor Day Celebrated at Hamza Foundation, Peshawar ...................................................... 38

Blood Donation Awareness Walk at the Children Hospital, Multan ............................................................ 39

Press Coverage .......................................................................................................................................... 40

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Abbreviations and Acronyms

AJK Azad Jammu and Kashmir

AMC Ali Medical Centre

BDO Blood Donor Organizations

CA&DD Capital Administration and Development Division

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CMLT College of Medical Laboratory Technology

DHQH District Headquarters Hospital

ED Executive Director

EMRO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office

FBDS Federalites Blood Donation Society

FGPC Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital

FIODS International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations

FMDC Federal Medical and Dental College

GIZ German International Cooperation

HQ Headquarters

ICT Islamabad Capital Territory

IEC Information, Education and Communication

IFRC International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies

IIU International Islamic University

ISBT International Society of Blood Transfusion

KfW German Development Bank

KPK Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

MCHC Mother and Child Health Centre

NIH National Institute of Health

PIMS Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences

PRCS Pakistan Red Crescent Society

RBC Regional Blood Centre

SBTP Safe Blood Transfusion Programme

SZABMU Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University

T.I. Tamgha-e-Imtiaz

VNRBD Voluntary Non-Remunerated Blood Donation

WBDD World Blood Donor Day

WHO World Health Organisation

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Acknowledgements

The Safe Blood Transfusion Programme is pleased to present the World Blood

Donor Day Report 2017. The Report provides an overview of the activities

conducted by the Programme to celebrate the WBDD in the Islamabad Capital

Territory and activities conducted by other partners in the provinces. The

Programme is very grateful to the Ministry of CA&DD for their patronage and

cooperation to celebrate this day.

The Programme is highly grateful to Dr. Tariq Fazal Choudhury, Minister of

State for Capital Administration and Development Division, for taking keen

interest in the Programme activities. The Minister’s guidance and patronage is most important for the

successful implementation of the Project.

The Programme also acknowledges the encouragement from Ms. Nargis Ghaloo, Federal Secretary, Dr.

Jamal Yousaf, Additional Secretary, Dr. Shabana Saleem, Deputy Director General, and Dr. Zafar

Iqbal, Senior Research Officer, which enabled SBTP to celebrate the World Blood Donor Day in befitting

manner.

The support extended to the Programme by the WHO for the celebrations of WBDD is also appreciated

and was very valuable for the successful conduction of the reported events. The cooperation received

from the WHO country office by Dr. Mohammad Assai and Dr. Zulfiqar Khan is highly appreciated. The

Programme would also like to appreciate the coordination role of Mr. Junping Yu and Dr. Yetmgeta

Abdella from WHO HQ and EMRO.

The Programme also acknowledges the support and cooperation provided by the provincial Blood

Transfusion Programmes, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Federal Medical and Dental College, Blood

Donor Organizations, various partner organizations, print and electronic media and all stakeholders

involved for their constant support and encouragement.

The Programme takes this opportunity to appreciate the team work of SBTP namely Dr. Amir Maqbool,

Usman Waheed, Sajid Hussain Shah, Khalid Mahmood, Imtiaz Hussain Shah, Akhlaaq Wazeer,

Saira Tahir and Kaenat Nasir.

PROF. HASAN ABBAS ZAHEER

National Coordinator/Project Director

Safe Blood Transfusion Programme

Government of Pakistan

June 2017

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Message

Dr. Tariq Fazal Choudhury, Minister of State, Ministry of CA&DD

I am delighted to participate in the celebrations of the World Blood Donor

Day 2017. The Day is celebrated to pay tribute to the sacrifice of the

regular voluntary donors who are directly responsible for saving or

improving the lives of millions of patients. More importantly, this Day is an

occasion for the people, particularly young people, to make responsible

choices, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and donate blood regularly.

Each year the World Health Organization identifies a new theme and

slogan to celebrate the global World Blood Donor Day campaign. The

theme for the year 2017 is ‘Blood Donation in Emergencies’ and the

slogan is ‘Give blood. Give now. Give often’. It focuses on thanking blood donors who save lives every day

through their blood donations and strongly encourages more people to donate blood voluntarily and

regularly. The campaign underlines the role every single healthy person can play in helping others in

emergency situations, by giving the valuable gift of blood. It also focuses on the fact that it is important to

give blood regularly, so that the blood stock is sufficient before an emergency arises.

To promote voluntary blood donations, blood safety and improve access to safe blood the Government of

Pakistan initiated blood safety system reforms in 2008 and established the Safe Blood Transfusion

Programme with the support of the German government. The WHO also provides valuable technical

assistance to the Programme. This Programme has been different from other development programmes,

not only because of the nature of work, but also in allowing the increasing and full participation of local

counterparts in the design and implementation work. It is one of the best models of development to be

expected.

The blood safety reforms process, through the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme, has contributed a lot to

improving the state of affairs of transfusion services in the country. The committed and participatory

approach adopted by the Programme and cooperation of the stakeholders has contributed to increasing

sensitization; creation of an enabling environment; and introduction of conceptual changes in the blood

transfusion practices in the country. This gradual paradigm shift has been complimented by the creation of

a new national network of modern Regional Blood Centres supporting the upgraded hospital blood banks

which is an incredible achievement. And further expansion of this network in the second phase of the

project is indeed more remarkable. The government acknowledges these achievements by the Blood

Programme. The government also appreciates the contribution of the public and private sector partners in

this reforms process. And more importantly the international partners, the German government and the

World Health Organization, deserve special acknowledgment in supporting the government’s initiative. The

present government is fully committed to ensure that the success achieved and the momentum gained is

maintained to secure and strengthen the resources and efforts invested so that the vision of access to safe,

efficacious and affordable blood to all in the country becomes a reality in the near future.

Access to safe blood for transfusion is one of the main health care priorities for the government. And so

during the last four years the pace of this project has increased considerably and its first phase was

completed last year in which the physical and technical targets were successfully achieved. In 2014, the

Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif granted special exemption from all kind of taxes for this

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project. In 2015, the Programme successfully organized the first ever international blood transfusion

conference which was inaugurated by the President of Pakistan which further demonstrated the

government’s commitment to strengthen the blood reforms. And now the government has ensured the

continuation of the project by initiating the Phase II of the project with the continuing support from the

German government and the WHO.

In the second phase of the project, in addition to expanding the network of the Regional Blood centres and

Hospital Based Blood banks all over the country, a model modern Regional Blood Centre in Islamabad will

also be developed for which the government has already allocated land. The ‘Ground Breaking’ ceremony

of the Islamabad Regional Blood Centre was performed a few weeks ago and participated by all of us. This

Centre will serve as blood procurement and distribution centre for the entire Islamabad ensuring quality

systems to regulate all activities which will involve mobilization and retention of voluntary and regular blood

donors, maintenance of donor database, collection of blood donations as well as processing, screening,

testing, component preparation and storage of the prepared components. A customized Management

Information System will be especially provided for the smooth functioning of the new system including this

Centre and its linkage with the hospital blood banks. The blood components prepared in this Centre will be

provided to the hospital blood banks in Islamabad. Hospital Blood Banks in the public sector will be

provided new equipment and the existing blood banks will be functionally re-modeled and converted into

patient oriented hospital transfusion services to perform the function of storage, distribution, compatibility

testing and haemovigilance. In addition, the Islamabad Centre will serve as an International and Regional

reference blood centre.

The basis and foundation of the transfusion services in this Centre would be complete reliance on voluntary

and regular blood donors. The main source of the voluntary blood donors would be the youth studying in the

university and colleges of Islamabad and the healthy members of the society. Work on sensitizing,

mobilizing, recruiting and retaining these potential blood donors has already been initiated by the Safe

Blood Transfusion Programme. The main strategy in this regard is the strengthening of the existing Blood

Donor Organizations of the educational institutions so that they are able to yield their true potential. The

other strategy is to convert the suitable ‘Family Replacement Donors’ into ‘Regular Voluntary Donors’ in

addition to raising awareness about the significance of blood safety and voluntary blood donations among

the general public. As result of these efforts by the Programme and the support of all of us, we expect that

in the very near future, family members of the sick patients in Islamabad will not be burdened with the task

of arranging blood donations for their patients. The ‘current demand driven’ system will thus be transform to

a ‘supply driven system’.

And so I hope that when we participate in the celebrations of the World Blood Donor Day 2018, the

Islamabad Regional Blood Centre would be nearing completion and there will be marked and visible

improvements in the rate of voluntary blood donations in Islamabad and many of you would have become

regular voluntary blood donors.

I will conclude by appreciating the committed efforts of the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme team in

implementing this project of immense public health significance. I also congratulate the Programme team

in raising awareness about voluntary blood donation and celebrating the World Blood Donor Day in a

befitting manner in Islamabad. Let us all pledge to make this government’s immensely important health

Programme a success and commit to become regular voluntary blood donors.

DR. TARIQ FAZAL CHOUDHURY

Minister of State

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Message

Dr Mahmoud Fikri, Regional Director, Who Eastern Mediterranean Region

This year’s World Blood Donor Day campaign focuses on blood

donation in emergencies. The lives and health of millions of people in

the Eastern Mediterranean Region are affected by man-made and

natural disasters, creating considerable needs for emergency health

care. Blood transfusion is an essential component of emergency

health care. It is vital for treating the wounded during emergencies,

and supports complex medical and surgical procedures. Blood also

has an essential, life-saving role in maternal and child care. However,

in many affected countries, the demand for blood exceeds the

available supply. Thus, blood services face challenges in making a

sufficient quantity of blood available, while also ensuring its quality

and safety. In any emergency, the natural human response is “What

can I do? How can I help?” WHO is calling on people to help by

giving blood regularly, so that sufficient blood is available before an emergency arises. An adequate and

safe supply of blood can only be assured through a well-organized blood service that is adequately

prepared to meet the increase in demand during emergencies. Every year on 14June, countries around

the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day. The event serves to thank blood donors for their life-saving

gift of blood and to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations throughout the year to ensure

the availability of safe blood supplies for patients in need. World Blood Donor Day is an opportunity to

persuade leaders in the health sector to show their appreciation to regular voluntary blood donors and to

widely increase public awareness of the need for year-round, regular voluntary unpaid blood donation, to

save lives during emergencies. 2 WHO is also calling on all countries to include blood transfusion

services in national emergency preparedness and response activities. We thank those donors who

donate blood regularly to save lives and we encourage others to begin doing so. Give blood. Give now.

Give often. Blood donation saves lives. Thank you.

DR. MAHMOUD FIKRI

Regional Director

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region

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Message

Cristiano Ronaldo__Global Ambassador for the BE THE 1Donor Movement

The Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo – one of the top

soccer players in the world – is well-known for his

passion on the field. Now he's taking that passion off

the field in pursuit of a different kind of goal.

Keeping in mind the importance of blood, Abbott and

Real Madrid soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo are

partnering to bring even more attention to this important

cause. Ronaldo will serve as the first global

ambassador for the BE THE 1donor movement to inspire and motivate young people around the world to

regularly donate blood and potentially help save a life.

"As young people, often we feel limited in the difference we can make," said Ronaldo, who serves as

forward for Real Madrid and Captain for Portugal's national team. "I saw firsthand the challenges my

teammate was going through. When I realized I could make such a difference by doing something that

was so quick, easy and relatively painless, I couldn't imagine not doing it. That's why I'm enthusiastic to

be partnering with Abbott to bring awareness to the importance of blood donation and to encourage

people around the world to become lifelong blood donors and help save lives."

For more information, please visit:

Website: https://www.bethe1donor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethe1donor/

Message

Double Oscar Award Winner, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Honorary

Ambassador of Blood Safety in Pakistan

Everyone is eligible to be a blood donor. One pint of blood can save the life of

three people.

If you wish to be someone’s hero, register at your local hospital and join the

Safe Blood Transfusion Programme which has been collecting voluntary

donations for its blood bank collection ensuring that every man, every women

and every child can share this gift of life.

SHARMEEN OBAID-CHINOY, T.I.

Honorary Ambassador of Blood Safety

Safe Blood Transfusion Programme

Government of Pakistan

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Executive Summary

Every year, on 14 June, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD). The Day

was identified in 2004 to raise awareness about the need for safe blood and blood products, and to thank

voluntary blood donors for their life-saving gift of blood. The Day also serves to create wider awareness

throughout the world about the need for availability and appropriate use of safe blood and blood products,

and the need for many more people to make a commitment to become regular voluntary unpaid blood

donors.

June 14 is the birthday of Karl Landsteiner (1868–1943), an Austrian biologist and physician, considered

to be the “founder” of modern blood transfusion. Blood transfusion is an essential element of emergency

and routine health care. Emergencies increase the demand for blood transfusion and make its delivery

challenging and complex. Adequate supply of blood during emergencies requires a well-organized blood

service and this can only be ensured by engaging the entire community and creating a pool of blood

donor population committed to regular voluntary unpaid blood donations throughout the year.

This year’s theme “Give blood. Give now. Give often” focuses on blood donation in emergencies. In crisis

or emergency situation, the natural human response is “What can I do? How can I help?”. Therefore, the

slogan for the 2017 blood donation campaign is: What can you do?, with the secondary message: Give

blood. Give now. Give often. The campaign underlines the role every single person can play in helping

others in emergency situations, by giving the valuable gift of blood. It also focuses on the fact that it is

important to give blood regularly, so that the blood stock is sufficient before an emergency arises.

Pakistan, along with the other 192 member states, is a signatory to all UN and WHO resolutions passed

on blood safety and voluntary blood donation in the last 40 years. Therefore, as a conscientious member

of the international community, the nation is responsible for implementing these resolutions (including

celebrations of WBDD) in earnest. Pakistan has already established a national blood service, is

strengthening blood safety legislations, consolidating its regulatory systems and working towards fulfilling

the commitment to having 100% VNRBD by 2020.

Since 2009, this Day is celebrated in Pakistan also by the blood transfusion stakeholders across the

country. A series of various activities are conducted in the month of June to acknowledge the sacrifice of

the anonymous voluntary donors who donate blood regularly and save countless lives. The impact of

these celebrations has resulted in increasing awareness about voluntary blood donations. The

involvement of the youth particularly the university and college students in these celebrations has been

overwhelming.

The WBDD activities in Pakistan are receiving more and more coverage in the print and electronic media

which is a reflection of the sustained and committed efforts of the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme.

This development is very crucial at this stage as the Programme has completed the first phase of the

project and the new infrastructure of a network of our Regional Blood Centres supporting the hospital

blood banks now operational.

In this Report, the Programme provides a brief coverage of the many WBDD activities conducted this

year. The World Health Organization also provided valuable technical assistance in the celebration of the

WBDD across the country. A special feature of these year’s WBDD celebrations was the organization of

various thematic competitions to mark the Day, including essay writing competitions and poster contests

in which up to 29 academic institutions participated. These competitions were participated by a very large

number of spirited youth who got an opportunity to express their talent and gain recognition and at the

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same time crate awareness about the noble cause. These competitions had a broad outreach with

participation of students from all the provinces and regions. A large number of young students from

academic institutions all over the country also participated in a theme based essay writing and poster

making competitions. Indeed, the response to these competitions by the young people was truly

overwhelming.

The Report covers the series of diverse activities conducted in the days and weeks leading to June 14

and afterwards to acknowledge the anonymous voluntary donors who donate blood and save countless

lives. These events included hiking tours, sports matches and various advocacy seminars in hospitals

and educational institutions. SBTP also supported the provincial partners, through WHO assistance, to

organize WBDD activities in their respective regions including in the newly developed German

government funded Regional Blood Centers which are also covered in this Report.

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World Blood Donor Day Celebrations and Pakistan

Every year the World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is celebrated all over the world on June 14 to pay tribute

to the regular voluntary blood donors for their gift of life. The designation of this special day was initiated by

the key international partners in the field of blood transfusion; World Health Organization (WHO),

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), International Society of Blood

Transfusion (ISBT) and the International Federation Donors Society (FIODS). And since 2005, on this Day

the national stakeholders organize events and activities to highlight the significance of safe blood for

transfusions and acknowledge the sacrifice of the voluntary blood donors in sustaining the blood

transfusion system.

Each year the WHO identifies a new theme and slogan to celebrate the global WBDD campaign. The

theme for the year 2017 is ‘Blood Donation in Emergencies’ and the slogan is ‘Give blood. Give now. Give

often’. It focuses on thanking blood donors who save lives every day through their blood donations and

strongly encourages more people all over the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly. The

campaign underlines the role every single healthy person can play in helping others in emergency

situations, by giving the valuable gift of blood. It also focuses on the fact that it is important to give blood

regularly, so that the blood stock is sufficient before an emergency arises.

Since the last few years, the World Blood Donor Day is celebrated in Pakistan also with increasing

participation. The activities are lead and steered by the government’s Safe Blood Transfusion Programme

(SBTP) which was established in 2010 with the support of the German government. A series of diverse

activities are conducted in the days and weeks leading to June 14 to acknowledge the anonymous

voluntary donors who donate blood and save countless lives. More and more of these activities are now

being conducted all over the country especially in the educational institutions, the base of the young

healthy people, potentially the best blood donors.

In Pakistan, the blood supply system is highly fragmented, uncoordinated and mostly not regulated. There

are over 1800 blood banks in the public, private and NGO sectors. The role of the non-public sector is

significant, driven mainly by the huge burden of thalassemia in the country. Coordination within the blood

banks and their hospitals is rudimentary. Until recently, all the stakeholders were working in isolation in a

fragmented system with little or no contact with each other and no experience sharing. The entire national

scenario was dominated by a demand driven fragmented blood transfusion system which is not only

hazardous but also promotes unsafe transfusions. Individual arrangements were in place in the provinces;

separate blood safety legislations were promulgated but never implemented. Blood transfusion authorities

were weak and regulation very poor with no real registration and licensing of the blood centres. As a result

there was mushrooming of blood banks with the Private/non-profit sector stepping to the best of their

capacity. Most significantly there was no national or regional platform to discuss and develop national

consensus. However, with the emergence of the government’s Blood Programme in 2010 and through its

assorted regular and diverse activities all the stakeholders have been brought on a single platform. The

various national consultations to develop operational tools, policies, frameworks and the organization of

regular seminars, training workshops etc. have provided an excellent opportunity for all concerned to

interact, share experiences and learn from each other. As a result of these networking opportunities, the

SBTP is now the recognized national voice of Pakistan on all issues related to transfusion. The national

and international partners recognize the SBTP as the national organization to represent Pakistan’s

national viewpoint on blood safety.

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An estimated 3.5 million units of blood are collected every year in Pakistan, of which only 11% are donated

by voluntary, unpaid blood donors from low risk populations. Reliance is thus largely on family replacement

donation system which must be replaced by a regular, voluntary blood donation system. This is very

important to improve blood safety considering the high prevalence of hepatitis C virus as well as hepatitis

B virus in our general population.

Encouraging results have been achieved in the recent past as an outcome of the blood safety systems

reforms in Pakistan introduced since 2008 through the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme, a Joint

Cooperation of the governments of Pakistan and Germany. The reforms have included developing the

regulatory system, establishing new regional blood centers and updating existing hospital-based blood

banks, improving the rational use of blood and blood products and promoting voluntary blood donations.

However, the system still has many challenges; Blood safety legislations and regulation are not properly

enforced, largely because the provincial blood transfusion authorities are not fully functional to carry out

regulatory functions, Inadequate regulation and control of procurement, importation, distribution, storage

and use of blood screening technologies, especially commonly used rapid screening test still remain a

challenge, Lack of coordination and collaboration with Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Provincial

Health Care Commissions, and other health programs such as HIV, Hepatitis, Maternal & Child Health,

Poor infection control, hygiene and asepsis in blood banks and hospitals, Newly constructed and equipped

regional blood centers are not yet fully operational because of shortage of competent staff and funds,

Blood donation programme promoting voluntary, unpaid and regular donation is not in place.

There are however opportunities for action as the government of Pakistan, federal and provincial, are fully

committed to promote blood safety and improve the blood regulatory, supply and transfusion system. The

Safe Blood Transfusion Programme, a blood system reform programme conceived and planned by the

Government of Pakistan in 2008 and launched in 2010, has in a very short span of seven years evolved

into a very promising and inspiring initiative in ensuring the availability and safety of blood transfusion for

all in the country. The blood system reform efforts are guided by the National Blood Policy and Strategic

Framework (2014-2020).The concerns regarding blood safety and availability are well recognized by the

federal and provincial governments as well as the general public, which creates an opportunity for

receiving additional support for the reform process.

The Way Forward is to make the blood transfusion authorities fully functional by providing necessary

support including adequate number of competent staff to provide comprehensive oversight of the entire

system. A mechanism for collaboration between blood transfusion authorities and the sister regulatory

authorities e.g., Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Provincial Health Care Commission needs to be

established to avoid fragmentation and uncoordinated delegation of regulatory functions and to share

experience is establishing the organizational and financial structure and regulatory functions. There is also

a need to generate up-to-date knowledge about the services to be regulated (mapping). Smooth and

timely operationalization of the new regional blood centers through the recruitment and training of the

necessary staff, providing financial and material resources, to support the effort of regionalization and

coordination of blood bank with the aim of meeting the demand for blood and blood products from fewer,

quality assured and well-regulated blood banks. Advocacy and awareness-raising efforts are needed

focusing on politicians, decision makers, blood bank managers, patients, general population and NGOs

through different channels, targeting on role of blood regulation to ensure the safety and quality of blood

supply and transfusion system. Linkages need to be established with the relevant vertical health

programmes of the Health Ministry.

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However, the core foundation of the reforms being undertaken by the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme

is promotion of the national culture of voluntary, unpaid and regular blood donations and converting family

replacement donors to regular voluntary donors. A joint effort to firmly introduce the concept of Voluntary

Non-remunerated Blood Donations is required. The successful functioning and sustainability of this

immensely important blood safety project is dependent on the creation of a pool of young, healthy,

voluntary blood donors who donate blood on a regular basis without any financial remuneration or reward.

Regular voluntary blood donors are the best, safest and recommended donors. If 2-3% of our total

population becomes a part of this ‘pool’ then we will be successful in achieving the target of 100% reliance

on voluntary blood donation.

To promote the culture of voluntary blood donations, the Programme is engaging with the existing Blood

Donor Organizations in the universities and colleges and has established a Network of these organizations

and is providing them technical guidance and support. The aim of this exercise is to build the capacity of

these organizations so that their true potential can be yielded. At the same time, the Programme is

focusing on the existing ‘Replacement Donors’, the donors who are friends and relatives of the patients

who need blood transfusion. These donors donate blood because unless they donate blood their patient

will not receive blood transfusion. Outsourcing the responsibility of mobilizing and recruiting blood donors

to the patients is an irresponsible practice and needs to be discontinued as it places additional burden on

the stressed families and an element of coercion is also involved. The Programme is working towards the

conversion of these ‘Replacement Donors’ and sifting the suitable donors among them to convert them into

voluntary donors who should continue to donate blood on a regular basis as an anonymous donor for the

anonymous patient.

The popularity of the World Blood Donor Day celebrations in Pakistan and wide participation in them by the

youth helps to secure and strengthen the resources and efforts invested thus far in the blood project.

Continued efforts in this course will help realise the vision of access to safe, efficacious and affordable

blood, which is a basic human right, to all in the country.

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Promotional Material

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National Poster and Essay (English and Urdu) Competitions

The celebration of World Blood Donor Day provides an opportunity to the organizations working for the

promotion of volunteerism to aware general public about blood safety and voluntary blood donations. For

this purpose, the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme organized a “National Poster and Essay (English

and Urdu) Competition” on the topic “Blood connects us all__Share life, Give blood” which was the global

theme of WHO for celebrating WBDD 2016.

The Safe Blood Transfusion Programme promoted the event by visiting schools, colleges and universities

and also by sending formal letters to the institutional heads, student organizations and through social

media (facebook, twitter). The contest was open to the students of secondary school and above up to

university level. The response of the students to these competitions was overwhelming with more than 29

schools / colleges / universities / institutions participating from different cities across Pakistan. The main

objective of these contests was to give an opportunity to the students to express their perspective

thoughts by art and written word on voluntary blood donation.

The participants of National Posters and Essay Competition were invited to the main function of WBDD

2016 celebrations by SBTP on June 6, 2016 at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts. The top three

posters and essays (English and Urdu) were awarded with souvenirs, certificates and cash prize money

of Rs. 15,000/- , Rs. 10,000/-and Rs. 5,000/- respectively.

National Poster Competition

Total Posters Received: 26

Names of Participating Institutions:

1. College of Medical Laboratory Technology, National Institute of Health, Islamabad

2. Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad

3. CDA Model School, 1-9/3 Islamabad

4. Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Islamabad

5. University of Lahore, Islamabad Campus

6. International Islamic University, Islamabad.

Selection Criteria:

1. Originality

2. Organization of Poster

a. Logical presentation

b. Attractive and Balanced

3. Legibility of Text

4. Presentation of Figures

5. Message (easy to comprehend)

6. 2017 Global Theme

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1st

Position

Areeba Munir

CDA Model School I-9/3

Islamabad

Zahira Hanif

CMLT, National Institute of Health

Islamabad

2nd

Position

Zohra Mansoor

Islamabad Medical and Dental College

Islamabad

3rd

Position

Saira Yousaf

CMLT, National Institute of Health

Islamabad

Adiya Batool

CDA Model School I-9/3

Islamabad

National English Essay Competition

Total Essays Received: 32

Names of Participating Institutions:

1. Abbasyn University, Islamabad

2. College of Medical Laboratory Technology, NIH, Islamabad

3. Federal Medical and Dental College, Islamabad

4. International Islamic University, Islamabad

5. Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Islamabad

6. Islamabad Model College for Girls, F-6/2, Islamabad

7. University of Punjab, Lahore

Selection Criteria:

Words limit

Topic relevance

Attractive and balanced

Message

Originality

Arrangement of text and paragraph

2017 Global Theme

WBDD Report 2017

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1st

Position

Izza Nisar

Abasyn University

Islamabad

Roha Rafique

MBBS Student

Federal Medical and Dental College

Islamabad

2nd

Position

Rida Hassan

MBBS Student

Federal Medical and Dental College

Islamabad

3rd

Position

Rozeena Aurangzeb

BS MLT

College of Medical Laboratory Technology

National Institute of Health

Islamabad

National Urdu Essay Competition

Total Essays Received: 10

Names of Participating Institutions:

7. Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad

8. College of Medical Laboratory Technology, NIH, Islamabad

9. Federal Medical and Dental College, Islamabad

10. Islamabad Model College for Girls, Street 25, F-6/2, Islamabad

11. CDA Model School, I-9/3, Islamabad

Selection Criteria:

1. Words limit

2. Topic relevance

3. Attractive and Balanced

4. Message

5. Originality

6. Arrangement of text and paragraph

7. 2017 Global Theme

WBDD Report 2017

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1st

Position

Ayesha Ansir

DMLS Student

University of Lahore

Islamabad Campus

Syeda Amira Gillani

Islamabad Model College for Girls F-6/2

Islamabad

2nd

Position

Aneesa Batool

MBBS Student

Federal Medical and Dental College

Chak Shahzad, Islamabad

Momina Qadeer

BDS Student

Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad

3rd

Position

Samia Munir

MBBS Student

Federal Medical and Dental College

Chak Shahzad, Islamabad

WBDD Report 2017

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Award Winning Posters

WBDD Report 2017

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Seminar and Awards Ceremony in Islamabad

Dr. Tariq Fazal Choudhry, Minister of State, Capital Administration & Development Division was the chief

guest at the World Blood Donor Day function organized in Islamabad by the Safe Blood Transfusion

Programme (SBTP) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). Also present on the occasion

were representatives of the WHO, KFW, GIZ, PRCS, UNAIDS etc. A large number of college and university

students and other stakeholders including the media were also present in the event.

The Minister appreciated the committed efforts of the Blood Programme for rendering invaluable services for

making possible access to safe blood for transfusion to all in the country. He especially appreciated the role

of Prof. Zaheer in steering the project with exemplary skills and successfully overcoming the challenges that

invariably arise in such pioneer projects. He added that the project has picked up pace in the last four years

as the government places great emphasis on blood safety. The Minister informed that the construction of a

modern Regional Blood Center in Islamabad will begin soon through the German government funding on the

land provided by the government. This Center will serve as blood procurement and distribution centre for the

entire Islamabad ensuring quality systems to regulate all activities which will involve mobilization and

retention of voluntary and regular blood donors, maintenance of donor database, collection of blood

donations as well as processing, screening, testing, component preparation and storage of the prepared

components. The Minister thanked the German government in supporting this very important project and

especially appreciated the role of KFW and GIZ in funding the project. He also appreciated the technical

assistance provided by WHO for promoting blood safety in Pakistan particularly voluntary blood donations.

WBDD Report 2017

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Speaking on the occasion, Prof.

Zaheer, Project Director, SBTP

informed that it is very important to

promote the culture of voluntary blood

donations in Pakistan as the country

essentially relies on the ‘Family

Donors’ to sustain the transfusion

system. This is not an enviable

situation and places unnecessary

burden on the families of the patients

who are already under stress.

Reliance on voluntary and regular

blood donors will improve the blood

safety standards manifold. In addition it will also transform the current ‘demand driven system’ into a ‘supply

driven system’ as is the case in the countries which have an efficient and well-functioning blood system. To

achieve this objective the healthy members of the society, particularly the youth, must come forward and

donate blood on a regular basis, three to four times a year. Prof. Zaheer added that the Islamabad Regional

Blood Center will be developed by the end of the next year which must have 100% reliance on voluntary and

regular blood donors. The Programme has chalked two strategies for achieving this challenging target;

conversion of suitable ‘Family Donors’ into voluntary and regular blood donors and strengthening of

university based blood donor organizations. These efforts along with sensitization of the public about the

significance of blood safety, through events like the World Blood Donor Day celebrations yield promising

results with the help of technical assistance of WHO.

Dr. Zulfiqar Khan, the WHO representative in his remarks appreciated the efforts of the government to

improve the blood transfusion system in the country. He said that WHO will continue to provide technical

assistance to promote voluntary blood donations in Pakistan in addition to all aspects of the vein-to-vein

transfusion. Dr. Masuma Zaidi, from the German Development Bank KfW also spoke on the occasion and

stated that the Donor Day seminar served to highlight the achievements of the SBTP in promoting voluntary

blood donations and developing a new blood system in the country with the support of the German

government. She said that the German government will continue its assistance for the Blood Programme as

this project is truly a ‘success story’.

Some winners of the WBDD Speech competition also made their speeches. Video messages of the CADD

Minister, German Ambassador and voluntary blood donors were also shown during the function. Prizes,

certificates and shields were awarded to the winners of the poster and essay competitions organized by the

Programme to promote voluntary blood donations.

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WBDD Report 2017

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Cricket Match between SBTP and Federal Medical and Dental College,

Islamabad As a part of WBDD 2017 celebrations,

the SBTP organized a friendly cricket

match between SBTP and the Federal

Medical and Dental College (FMDC)

teams at National Cricket Ground, F-9

Markaz, Islamabad. The objective was

to create awareness and to motivate

general public about voluntary blood

donation. Promotional material (T-

Shirts, caps, mugs, pens, pamphlets,

badges, car stickers) with slogans

appreciating and encouraging blood

donors were distributed among the

people. The ground was decorated with

balloons and banners having messages in connection with the World Blood Donor Day 2017, i.e. Give

blood. Give now. Give often. The match was won by SBTP team by 3 runs. Dr. Arshad Malik, Captain of

the SBTP team lifted the winning trophy. Usman Waheed was declared Man of the Match on his amazing

bowling spell.

Prof. H.A. Zaheer, National Coordinator SBTP presented the wining trophy and medals to the players. In

his concluding address, he appreciated the players for participating in this noble cause. He also

appreciated the active participation of the large number of spectators especially the youth. Also present

on the occasion were Prof. Smit Sibinga and Dr. Yetmgeta Abdella from the World Health Organization,

Dr. Masuma Zaidi from the German Development Bank. Dr. Yetmgeta in his address said the theme of

this year's World Blood Donor Day focuses on blood donation in emergencies. The campaign underlines

the role every single person can play in helping others in emergency situations, by giving the valuable gift

of blood. It also focuses on the fact that it is important to give blood regularly, so that the blood stock is

sufficient before an emergency arises. Government officials from the SBTP and Faculty members from

FMDC were also present on the occasion.

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WBDD Report 2017

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2nd Annual Hiking Tour “Hike for Life” at Trail 3, Islamabad

The SBTP and Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) jointly organized a Hiking tour “HIKE FOR LIFE”

as part of the celebrations of World Blood Donor Day 2017. The hiking tour was organized at Trail 3 on

Margalla Hills, Islamabad. A large number of young people participated in the hike. The objective was to

create awareness and to motivate general public about voluntary blood donation. The track was

decorated with balloons and banners having messages of the World Blood Donor Day 2017, i.e. Give

blood. Give now. Give often.

Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, Director Health, PRCS, and Usman Waheed, Technical Expert, SBTP,

presented the prizes to the first three participants who reached the top view point. Dr. Mohiuddin

appreciated the participants for coming on this noble cause. He also appreciated the SBTP team for their

remarkable step forward in mobilizing the youth. Dr. Arif Nadeem Saqib, Pakistan Health Research

Council also spoke on the occasion and said the theme of this year's World Blood Donor Day underlines

the role every single person can play in helping others in emergency situations, by giving the valuable gift

of blood. It also focuses on the fact that it is important to give blood regularly, so that the blood stock is

sufficient before an emergency arises. All the participants appreciated the efforts of SBTP in organizing

the hike to celebrate the WBDD.

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WBDD Report 2017

28

Poster and Speech Competitions at the Shifa Tameer-i-Millat

University, Islamabad

Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University (STMU) organized a Poster and Speech competition on June 09, 2017

to celebrate the World Blood Donor Day 2017 with the theme “Give Blood, Give Now, Give Often”. Dr. Zia

Farooqi (Assistant Professor, STMU) in his welcome speech highlighted the contributions of Prof. Dr.

Hasan Abbas Zaheer and his SBTP team in promoting blood safety in Pakistan through the Safe Blood

Transfusion Programme and shed light on the importance of voluntary blood donation.

The Posters were displayed prominently

in the main entrance area and depicted

the talent, creativity and enthusiasm of

the participating students. Similarly the

standard of the Urdu and English

speeches was also very impressive and

passionate. The audience expressed

their appreciation for the winners for their

excellent oratory skills. The competitions

were judged by the six-member panel

and the result was announced at the end

of the function.

Prof. Hasan Abbas Zaheer, National Coordinator SBTP was the

chief guest of the function. In his address, he briefed the

students about the importance of the World Blood Donor Day

and stated that the Day is celebrated to pay tribute to all the

voluntary blood donors and to encourage others towards this

noble cause. He also shared the statistics of voluntary blood

donations around the world (108 million) and within Pakistan (3.5

million). He said most of the blood donors are replacement

donors who are not considered as the safest donors. He also

briefed students about the establishment, goals and

achievements of SBTP. Prof. Zaheer appealed to the youth to

come forward and commit to becoming regular voluntary blood

donors to help sustain our new network of Regional Blood

Centers.

The closing remarks were made by Dr. Mohammad Naseem Ansari (Executive Director, STMU) who

made a motivational speech regarding importance of voluntary blood donations and was very thankful for

the efforts of team SBTP for this noble cause. He said that there should be no apprehensions about

donating blood as we all are muslims and being a muslim it is our duty to donate blood regardless of cast,

color and religion. He also requested students to donate blood and promote this practice as well.

In the end of the event, shields and certificates were distributed among the winners of poster competition

as well as Urdu and English speech competition and the hardworking faculty members who organized

this event.

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WBDD Report 2017

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Seminar on Voluntary Blood Donation at the International Islamic

University, Islamabad

The SBTP arranged a seminar on the importance of Voluntary

Non-Remunerated Blood Donations (VNRBD) at the

Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, International

Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI). The seminar highlighted

the need for safe blood through regular voluntary blood

donations. The Chairman, Department of Biotechnology, IIU,

Dr. M. Arshad Malik presented the social and religious

aspects of blood donation. He said the dominant form of

blood donation in Pakistan is a directed/replacement system.

Complex sociocultural values influence from whom a recipient

can receive blood. He explained the various and complex meanings embedded in blood using empirical

ethnographic data from Pakistan. He also acknowledged the efforts of Prof. Hassan Abbas Zaheer,

National Coordinator SBTP, in spreading awareness on the importance of voluntary donations and safe

blood transfusions. Dr. Malik urged the IIUI students to donate blood regularly to ensure availability of

safe and quality assured blood.

Prof. Zaheer, National Coordinator SBTP was the

main speaker in the seminar. He addressed the

students and sensitized them on strengthening of

foundation of safe blood transfusion system, i.e.

voluntary blood donation. He briefed about the goals

and achievements of SBTP and its endeavors for

establishing a new system based on national

coordination and centralization. He briefed about the

concept of Regional Blood Centres and Hospital

Blood Banks and informed that very soon a modern

blood centre will be established in Islamabad also

and will supply blood and blood components to the

whole city. A question and answer session was held

at the end of his presentation where students were

given an opportunity to clear any misconceptions

and concerns they held with regards to donating blood. Prof. Zaheer called young students the pillars of

the network of Regional Blood Centers being established by the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme.

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Prof. Abdul Jaleel, President, Academic Staff

Association (ASA) appreciated the role of

SBTP in spreading awareness and giving

hope to the patients and their relatives. The

young generation was reminded of the

message given by their last Prophet

(P.B.U.H.) who contributed towards the

betterment of society in his whole life and

motivated everyone to do so. The Vice

President of IIUI, Prof. Naveed Aqdas Malik

delivered a very enlightening and

motivational speech to the students. He

encouraged the young generation in realizing

their importance and understanding their role

in the nation building. He appreciated the efforts of SBTP and encouraged students to donate voluntarily

and make it a regular feature of their routine life.

Souvenirs and certificates were distributed among the speakers and students followed by

refreshments.

4

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Poster and Speech Competitions at the College of Medical Laboratory

Technology, National Institute of Health, Islamabad

The College of Medical Lab Technology, National Institute of Health, Islamabad organized a poster and

speech competition on the WBDD 2017 theme “Give Blood, Give Now, Give Often”. Fareem Ullah (Vice

President of Blood Donor Society CMLT) in his welcome speech and highlighted the efforts of Blood

Donor Society of CMLT and SBTP for increasing the rate of voluntary blood donations. The competition

participants made stimulating and enthusiastic speeches in Urdu and English to develop the interest

among the audience about voluntary donations.

An impressive Poster exhibition by the CMLT students was also held on the occasion. The competitions

were judged by the panel of four jury members. The results were announced at the end of the speech

competitions and shields were distributed among the winners. Mr. Blilal Hafeez (Chairperson of Blood

Donor Society, CMLT) invited Mr Usman Waheed (Technical Expert, SBTP) and all the members of both

the societies (Blood Donor Society and Student Literary Society of CMLT) for the oath taking ceremony.

In the end, Mr. Usman Waheed addressed the students and sensitized them about their importance in

strengthening the foundation of safe blood transfusion system. He briefed them about the goals and

achievements of SBTP and their

endeavors towards establishing

a sound system of

haemovigilance, quality

assurance and national

coordination of blood system

reforms.

The concluding remarks were

made by Mr. Jamil Akhtar who

made a very motivational and

humorous speech regarding

importance of voluntary blood

donations and was very thankful

of all the efforts of team SBTP

for this noble cause.

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WBDD Report 2017

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Blood Donation Camp and Awareness Seminar at the DHQ Hospital,

Mirpur, Azad Jammu and Kashmir The event was arranged in the blood bank of

Divisional Headquarters Teaching Hospital,

Mirpur and was attended by medical professionals

including Medical Superintendent of Divisional

Headquarters Teaching Hospital. Students of

Medical College Mirpur and University of AJK

(Department of Allied Health Sciences) also

participated in the event. Blood donations were

also collected.

Blood Donation Camp organized by the Al-Shifa Foundation and

Blood Bank, Mirpur, AJK Al-Shifa Foundation and Blood Bank (ASFBB)

arranged a blood donation camp in Mirpur, Azad

Jammu & Kashmir, to celebrate the World Blood

Donor Day 2017. The objective was to create

awareness among the staff and other participants on

voluntary blood donation. The camp was

inaugurated by Chaudhary Waqas. The Chief Guest

Chaudhary Waqas and Mr. Zakir Hussain highlighted

the need for safe blood. Al-Shifa Foundation was

founded in 2008 and is registered with the Social

Security Department

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Baloch Blood Bank Quetta organized a blood donation camp to

celebrate WBDD 2017

The Baloch Blood Bank, Quetta

organized a blood donation camp at

the Government Polytechnic Institute,

Saryab Road, Quetta. The objective of

the camp was to celebrate the World

Blood Donor Day 2017 and

disseminate the message of voluntary

blood donation among the youth.

Mr. Rafique Ghalzai, Principal,

Government Polytechnic Institute

inaugurated the camp. In his message

the Honorable Principal stated that it

was a matter of pride for the College to host and organize this voluntary blood donation drive initiative. He

said a single drop of blood can save many precious lives.

Mr. Usman Waheed, Technical Expert, Safe Blood Transfusion Programme (SBTP) appreciated the

efforts and services of Bloch Blood Bank under the supervision of Anwar Baloch. From a single unit of

blood, doctors can use several individual components separately, such as red blood cells, white blood

cells, platelets, etc. He further said there is a huge gap between demand and supply of blood in Pakistan

and similar scenario is present in Balochistan. Mr. Muhammad Anwar Baloch, President, Baloch Blood

Bank and Mr. Akhlaaq Wazeer, SBTP were also present on the occasion.

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Awareness Walk on World Blood Donor Day 2017 by the Regional

Blood Centre, Quetta The World Blood Donor Day 2017

was celebrated at the Regional

Blood Centre Quetta. The

celebrations included a seminar

followed by a walk to generate

awareness on the need for safe

blood and voluntary blood

donations. Prof. Nadeem Samad

Sheikh, Director Blood Transfusion

Project was the chief guest on the

occasion. He said the Quetta blood

centre is a modern facility

constructed by the German

Government to provide safe blood

to the citizens of Quetta. The centre

is fully equipped with state of the art

equipment. The basis of this centre is voluntary blood donations and we need to promote this culture in

our society so everyone receives quality assured and safe blood.

World Blood Donor Day is celebrated every year throughout the world to pay tribute to the services of

voluntary blood donors who have sacrificed for the suffering patients. And since 2009, this day is being

regularly celebrated by the blood transfusion stakeholders in Pakistan.

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One day Blood Camp arranged by Pashtoonkhwa Blood Bank, Quetta Pashtookhwa blood bank arranged a

one day blood camp in Chaman city

during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

The city mayor Salah-ud-Din Achakzai

inaugurated the blood camp by giving

blood donation himself. People from

every walk of life participated in this

blood camp with full zeal and fervor.

Hundreds of people donated blood

voluntarily even before afternoon. In a

short duration of 6 hours 50,000 cc

blood was collected and still there was

a long line of donors waiting for their

turn to donate blood.

Blood Donation Camp organized by RBC, Gilgit to celebrate WBDD

2017 RBC, Gilgit organized a blood donation

camp at the Government City Hospital,

Gilgit. The objective of the camp was to

celebrate the World Blood Donor Day

2017 and disseminate the message of

voluntary blood donation among the

youth.

Dr. Abdul Latif, RBC Manager was the

chief guest of the event. He himself

donated blood in the camp and

encouraged people to come forward and

serve the humanity by donating blood.

WBDD Report 2017

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World Blood Donor Day Celebrated at Hamza Foundation, Peshawar

Speakers at a function marking the World

Blood Donor Day on Wednesday stressed

the need for coordinated efforts to create

awareness among the masses to

voluntarily donate blood to save precious

lives. The event was organised by Hamza

Foundation Welfare Hospital and Blood

Services at the Peshawar Press Club,

which was attended by people from

different walks of life.

The participants also held a walk, holding

banners and placards inscribed with

slogans to encourage public for donating

blood to the people in need. Aijaz Ali Khan, chairman of the charity organisation, said the tendency of

blood donations in underdeveloped countries was very low due to lack of proper education and

awareness in general public. He said this year the blood donations day was observed under the theme:

What can you do? Give blood, Give now, Give often”.

Noted Pashto poet and educationist Prof Abaseen Yousafzai, and representatives of blood donors’

partners, and families were also present. Aijaz Khan said the creation of awareness on voluntary blood

donation was essential to encourage the general public to come forward and support the needy people by

donating blood.He urged the young generation to come forward and donate blood voluntarily through

special camps to ensure adequate availability of blood in local healthcare centres. He said blood donation

ratio was about 3.6 per cent in Pakistan, which was insufficient to meet requirements of needy patients on

emergency basis.

Aijaz Khan said his organisation had

so far registered 1,144 child patients

suffering from thalassaemia,

hemophilia, and blood cancer. He

said as many as 81,797 blood bags

had been collected by organising

blood collection and motivation

camps in various educational

institutions, religious seminaries,

offices and public places. He said his

organisation was ensuring to get

protected and pure blood for this

purpose, adding it was organising

camps under supervision of health

experts. He urged the provincial

education department to give additional 10 marks to those students who were donating blood. He also

demanded of the provincial government to increase the current grant for the organisation to help it meet

the growing annual expenses.

WBDD Report 2017

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Blood Donation Awareness Walk at the Children Hospital, Multan The World Blood Donor Day 2017 was

celebrated at the Children Hospital,

Multan. The celebrations included a blood

donation awareness arranged by Children

hospital blood bank, thalassemia centre

and safe blood transfusion programme.

Dr. Shahid Mehmood Bukhari, MS was

the chief guest on the occasion. He said

the main purpose to celebrate this day is

to encourage the public to come forward

and serve the humanity by donating

blood. Dr. Zaheer-ud-Din, Dr. Azeem

Subhani, social welfare officer Farrah

Naaz and many other voluntary donors

participated in the walk and donated

blood. The walk was started from MS

office and ended at the gate of new

building.

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Press Coverage

WBDD Report 2017

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WBDD Report 2017

1