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V O L U M E

72 D e c e m b e r

2 0 1 6

Parliament Praises IBTA Performance

A meeting of the

Parliamentary Committee

on Government

Assurances was held in

November 2016 in which

the performance of the

Islamabad Blood

Transfusion Authority was

also discussed. Earlier, a

private member in the

National Assembly had

asked a question about the Health Ministry’s efforts to regulate the blood banks in Islamabad. Prof.

Hasan Abbas Zaheer, Chairman IBTA represented the Health Minister in the Committee meeting

and briefed the Committee on the achievements, progress and plans of the regulatory work carried

out by the IBTA. The Committee was very impressed by the IBTA performance. The minutes of the

minutes noted; “The Committee showed complete satisfaction over the work of Islamabad Blood

Transfusion Authority, IBTA, regarding compliance of the assurance regarding elimination of

unmonitored blood banks in Islamabad. The Committee was of unanimous opinion that the

assurance had been complied in letter and spirit.”

The Government Assurances Committee is a non-ministerial committee of the members of National

Assembly and Senate of Pakistan and comprises 15 members from different political parties

including PML (N), PTI, PPPP and JUI-F. Blood regulation is a very important component of the

blood safety systems reforms being implemented by the SBTP. Therefore acknowledgment of the

political leadership of the success of the blood reforms process is an important milestone for the

Programme as well as all the stakeholders.

Fifth Meeting of the IBTA Advisory Board

The fifth meeting of the Advisory Board of Islamabad Blood Transfusion Authority was held on

December 15, 2016, in the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation & Coordination, under

the Chairmanship of Prof. H.A Zaheer. Other participants included Maj. Gen. (Retd) Muhammad

Ayub, Prof. Farooq Khattak, Dr. Imtiaz Hasan, Prof. Khurshid Ahmed, Dr. Asma Cheema, Maj. Dr.

Saif Khan Nizai, Prof. Javaid Usman, Dr. Amir Maqbool, Mr. Adeel Akbar and Mr. Usman Waheed.

The Board was briefed about the participation of the IBTA leadership in the various Parliamentary

meetings regarding blood safety and thalassaemia prevention. The Parliamentary Committee on

Government Assurances, National Assembly Secretariat expressed complete satisfaction over the

performance of IBTA and appreciated its efforts to regulate the blood sector in Islamabad in a very

professional manner. In another Senate Standing Committee meeting, it was recommended to

organizing awareness sessions on blood safety, thalassaemia and other hereditary disorders for the

Parliamentarians. They also emphasized to coordinate and strengthen the Provincial Blood

Transfusion Authorities and organize regular capacity building workshops. The IBTA Board also

deliberated on the administrative issues and took important decisions including the sanctioning of

IBTA posts, release of

funds for operating

expenses, opening the

Assignment Account,

and formulation of a

technical sub-

committee to revise the

IBTA rules. The IBTA

Board appreciated the

performance of the

Authority under the

dynamic leadership of

its Chairman.

EDITORIAL

Blood safety, regulation and

thalassaemia prevention issues are regularly raised in the parliament. To explain the government position the

SBTP National Coordinator is thus frequently asked to appear before the various forums of the National

Assembly and Senate. In December, during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on

Government Assurances the performance of the Islamabad Blood Transfusion Authority was

appreciated. Acknowledgement of the success of the blood safety reforms by the political leadership is

indeed a very significant milestone for the Programme.

This newsletter also covers the 5th

Board meeting of IBTA in which apart from the technical issues many important administrative

issues were accorded approval. Follow-up of these decisions with the Health Ministry will strengthen

the regulation work of IBTA in Islamabad as well as its collaboration with the provincial

partners.

Since 2015, the WHO EMRO has been regularly organizing blood

safety consultations and trainings to strengthen blood systems in the region. In this month two regional

consultations on Hemovigilance and Donor Management were held in Jordan. Pakistan was well

represented in these consultations and actively contributed in the success of the meetings.

The international partners including ISBT keenly follow the progress of the SBTP and support the

committed efforts of the Programme. ISBT Academy regularly supports organization of technical training

workshops in Pakistan. One such workshop was organized in Islamabad this month in which the

technical staff of the various blood banks received practical training. Such activities are very well attended and appreciated by the

stakeholders.

To develop plans for the Phase II implementation, two experts visited

Punjab and Balochistan to conduct site visits, meet partner NGOs and hold meetings with the health

department leadership. Such visits serve very useful purpose and help resolve administrative and technical

issues and result in smooth project implementation.

Prof. Hasan Abbas Zaheer

National Coordinator




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WHO Regional Consultation on Haemovigilance, Amman, Jordan

WHO EMRO convened a Regional Consultation on Haemovigilance in Amman, Jordan on December 4-5, 2016. The objectives of the

consultation were to highlight the importance of national haemovigilance systems for the continual improvement of the quality and

safety of blood products and the transfusion process; review the status, successes and challenges of establishing and/or

strengthening national haemovigilance systems; introduce the WHO guide to establishing a national haemovigilance system and

develop recommendations and priorities for action for establishing and/or strengthening national haemovigilance systems.

Participants from 19 regional countries attended the consultation including representatives of international and regional organizations;

Arab Haemovigilance Network, International Haemovigilance Network, International Society of Blood Transfusion, American

Association of Blood Banks as well as staff from WHO headquarters and Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Prof. H.A Zaheer, National Coordinator, SBTP represented Pakistan and also made the country presentation. The presentation was

well received and addressed the journey of blood safety system reforms in the country with special emphasis on Haemovigilance

practices in Pakistan. The meeting ended with the agreement on the recommendations and priorities for action at different levels of

the implementation of haemovigilance system following deliberations in the working groups.

WHO EMRO Regional Training on Blood Donor Management, Amman, Jordan

The Public Health Laboratories unit in the Division of Communicable

Diseases Control, WHO EMRO convened a Regional Training on Blood

Donor Management in Amman, Jordan on December 7-8, 2016. The

training was jointly organized by WHO EMRO, WHO HQ, Sanquin, National

Blood Bank (WHO Collaborating Centre for Transfusion Medicine) and the

Government of Jordan. The 2-day Regional Training involved participants

from 22 countries in the Region.

Pakistan was represented in the meeting by Prof. H.A Zaheer, National

Coordinator, SBTP and Dr. Noaman Siddique, Senior Lecturer, Ayub

Medical College, KPK. The objective of the training was to improve blood

donor management practices in the region. The training provided current

information on the essential components of blood donor management

including: Infrastructure required for blood donor

management, Donor base, Donor recruitment, Donor

retention, Blood collection, Donor counseling, referral and

care, Human resources management, IT and Ethical

considerations.

The meeting outcome was enhancement of the participant’s

knowledge of the principles and practices in blood donor

management. Based on the training course, the participants

will develop national action plans to improve blood donor

management. Similar trainings in 2017 in three sub-regions of

EMRO will be conducted for the training of Master Trainers.




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ISBT Training Workshop on Immunohaematology in Islamabad

The Safe Blood Transfusion Programme (SBTP) in collaboration

with the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT)

Academy and Pakistan Society of Blood Transfusion (PSBT)

organized a 2-day training workshop on ‘Immunohaematology’ at

the Maroof International Hospital, Islamabad.

The workshop was attended by the representatives of licensed

public and private blood banks of Islamabad and included

medical technologists, blood transfusion officers and

postgraduate residents. Since the last few years technical

workshops have been regularly conducted in Pakistan with the

support of the ISBT Academy.

Mr. Usman Waheed, Technical Expert, SBTP presented the

workshop objectives and the licensing status of the ICT blood

banks. The technical sessions included lectures on Introduction to Immunology (Dr. Muhammad Umair), Antigen-Antibody Reactions

(Dr. Arshad Malik), ABO Blood Group System Genetics and Biochemistry (Dr. Ahmed Farooq), Rh Blood Group System Genetics

(Mr. Akhlaaq Wazeer), Minor Blood Group Systems (Ms. Faiza Jabin), Antiglobulin Test (Mr. Asim Ansari), X-match via Gel Card (Mr.

Rehan Hafeez), and Screening and Identification of Allo-Antibodies (Mr. Usman Waheed). Practical hands-on training was provided

to all participants based on the lectures delivered. A demonstration session was also held on discrepancies of blood groups and

troubleshooting procedures were explained practically. All participants were provided opportunity to perform procedures. Pre and

Post workshop assessment of the participants was also performed which indicated significant increase in knowledge base of the

workshop participants.

National Laboratory Strategic Framework for Pakistan

The National Laboratory Working Group (NLWG) of the Ministry of National Health Services with the technical assistance from the

World Health Organization convened a 5-day consultative workshop on December 19-23, 2016, to endorse the ‘National Laboratory

Strategic Framework’ and to finalize the ‘Operational Plan for the Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity’. The participants included

members of the NLWG, representatives of professional societies and national experts. The meeting was facilitated by a WHO

Consultant from the Headquarters. The Safe Blood Transfusion Programme represented by Prof. H.A Zaheer, National Coordinator

and Mr. Usman Waheed, Technical Expert, was invited as a co-opted member of the Working Group and made presentations on the

process followed during the formulation of the National Blood Policy and Strategic Framework (2014-20). The participants highly

appreciated the successful implementation of the blood safety system reforms in a very systematic manner by involving all key

stakeholders which has resulted in a wider ownership. The regulatory experience of blood sector in the Islamabad Capital Territory

under the ICT Blood Safety Ordinance was also briefed and appreciated by the members.




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Up-gradation of large Blood Centers in Punjab and Balochistan __ Phase II

In Phase II of the SBT Project, in addition to developing new Regional Blood

Centers, 10 existing large Blood Banks would be upgraded to serve as Regional

Blood Centers. In addition, support would also be extended to credible NGOs

working in the BT sector. To carry out an assessment of the proposed centers, a

2-member team of experts, Prof. Javaid Usman and Mr. Usman Waheed, visited

Lahore and Quetta and inspected some proposed centers and met the provincial

leadership and hospital administration.

The IBTS Punjab facilitated the Lahore visit of the Consultants. This visit covered

assessment of blood banks in large tertiary care hospitals of Jinnah Hospital,

Mayo Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The NGOs visited included Fatimid

Foundation, Sundas Foundation and PRCS Blood Centre. The Consultants held

detailed briefing and debriefing sessions with the IBTS leadership. The team also

met the Additional Secretary Health to update him on the mission findings and the

Punjab plans for the Phase II. The Additional Secretary appreciated the efforts of

the Consultants for developing a sound operational plan for the implementation of

the Phase II of the project in Punjab.

During the visit to Quetta, the Consultants visited the SBTP Regional Blood

Centre, Quetta, Pashtoonkhwa Blood Bank, Baloch Blood Bank, Bolan Medical

Complex and Civil Hospital. Technical meetings were held with Provincial

Programme Manager (Prof. Nadeem Samad Sheikh) and Secretary BTA (Dr.

Sher Zaman Jogezai).

The Consultants also had two meetings with the Secretary Health

Balochistan (Mr. Noor ul Haq Baloch) and also met Secretary Finance

Balochistan (Mr Akbar Durrani). A joint visit to the Quetta RBC was also

done. The team briefed the Secretaries about the overall project

progress, project issues in Balochistan and plans for the Phase II

implementation in the province. They also briefed the Secretaries on the

findings of the visit and their recommendations. Both Secretaries lauded

the efforts made by the SBT project from the federal level to expedite the

implementation of blood safe system reforms in Balochistan. Secretary

Health assured his full support to resolve the outstanding issues which

were delaying the full operationalization of the Quetta RBC and

committed to facilitate the up-gradation of the blood banks in Turbat and

Loralai. The Secretary Finance also accompanied during the visit to the

RBC and was most impressed by the standard of construction and

equipment placed. He advised the Health Department to send all budget

related files for timely allocation and release of funds so that the

procurement of cold chain vehicles, consumables and hiring of staff may

be done on priority.

Urdu Translation of National SOP Manual by Jphiego

The SBTP developed a National SOP Manual for blood banks with the help of

national experts in 2013. The document provides step by step technique of

all the procedures performed in the blood banks.

As part of the SBTP-Jhpiego collaboration, this document has now been

translated in Urdu by Jphiego. The document is being used for trainings to

the blood bank personnel in Interior Sindh and also in rest of the country.

It is available on the SBTP and IBTA websites.




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UPDATES FROM SBTP REGIONAL BLOOD CENTRES

VNRBD Activities organized by RBC Gilgit, Quetta and Bahawalpur

Blood Donation Camp by Regional Blood Centre Bahawalpur

Seminar and Blood Donation Camp by Regional Blood Centre Gilgit

Blood Donation Camp by Regional Blood Centre Quetta

The SBTP has recently revised the National Guidelines on Quality Control in Transfusion

Medicine in an effort to ensure the maximum safety of all procedures for donors, recipients

and staff in transfusion services. The guidelines are based on the documents of the European

Union, WHO and Technical Manual of American Association of Blood Banks. The earlier

version of the document was developed in 2007 by the Ministry of Health.

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