An oasis of safest blood
Are you sure the blood transfusions you receive are completely safe?

Premkumar Takhellambam *

Voluntary Blood Donation Camp at HQ 18 Bn Sikh, Malom on 2nd August 2013 :: Pix - Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services

A major concern regarding the transfusion of blood and blood components is the potential for transmission of viral infections, particularly with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) AND Type 2 (HIV-2), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV).

These agents are primarily transmitted by exposure to contaminated blood or blood and plasma products, exposure to certain body tissues or fluids, by sexual contact or by an infected mother to fetus.

In many countries more and more testing is being done to make blood safe, but the majority of developing nations still do not carry out even the most basic mandatory tests for diseases such as HIV or Hepatitis B and C.

Shija Blood Bank & Transfusion Services

Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services, a paradigm of Private Public Partnership (PPP) in N.E. India was inaugurated on 16th September 2012 by Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar, Minister of State (IC), DoNER & Chairman, NEC, Govt. of India in the presence of Shri O. Ibobi Singh, Hon'ble Chief Minister, Manipur, Shri U.K. Sangma, Secretary, NEC, Shillong, Govt. of India and Shri D.S. Poonia, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Manipur. It is funded by North Eastern Council (NEC), Govt. of India through the Planning Department, Govt. of Manipur and is being implemented by Shija Health Care and Research Institute, a sister concern of Shija Hospitals and Research Institute Pvt. Ltd., HealthCity, Langol. The NGO was conceived with a vision to render international quality healthcare and all round development in Manipur and its neighboring states.

Objectives of Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services:

The objective of this blood bank is to:-
o Meet the shortage of blood in Manipur and its neighboring states.
o Ensure safety and quality of blood through state of the art highly reliable technologies.
o Render the best service to the society.

Salient features of Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services

This blood bank is equipped with state of the art facilities like Apheresis and Nucleic Acid Test (NAT), apart from the normal component separation and requisite advanced laboratory for blood screening.

What is Apheresis?

Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services is the 1st blood bank in the state to install this state of the art technology. The process of apheresis involves removal of whole blood from a patient or donor. The components of whole blood are separated with the help of an instrument that is essentially designed as a centrifuge. Only the required component is then withdrawn and the remaining components are re-transfused into the donor. The components which can be separated and withdrawn include plasma (plasmapheresis), platelets (plateletpheresis) and leukocytes (leukapheresis).

What is Nucleic Acid Test (NAT)?

Often called 'NAT' or Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) is a biochemical technique used to shorten the window period, a time between when a patient has been infected and when they show up as positive by antibody tests. Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services has become the 1st Centre in Eastern India and 9th Centre in India to install COBAS S201. With high prevalence rate of HIV-AIDS in this region, the window period for HIV1 and HIV2 is now reduced from 6 to 9 days with the help of this technology and thereby ensuring the safest blood on planet to the recipient.

Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services now offers the following services.

o Concentrated red blood corpuscle
o Platelets
o Fresh frozen plasma
o Apheresis platelet
o Cryoprecipitate
o Blood grouping
o Leukodepleted RBC
o Leukodepleted platelet
o Direct coombs test
o Indirect coombs test
o Antigen – antibody status

What is blood?

Blood is a specialized body fluid that supplies essential substances and nutrients, such as sugar, oxygen and hormones to our cells and carries away waste from these cells.

Much of today's medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors. Just half a litre of donated blood can save as many as three people's lives.

Blood is a rich product which can be broken down into many parts. Its main components are red cells, platelets and plasma, and the plasma itself contains a variety of proteins.

All of these substances have different uses and patients will need different components depending on their own blood type and on their condition. For instance, an anaemic person (a medical condition in which there is a decrease in number of red blood cells (RBCs) or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood and thus making the person feel tired and look pale) will only require red cells, while a haemophiliac (haemophilia - an inheritable disease, usually affecting only males but transmitted by women to their male children, characterized by loss or impairment of the normal clotting ability of blood so that a minor wound may result in fatal bleeding) needs clotting factors from plasma.

Once donated, red cells last only about 35 days and platelets only for five days. So a regular supply of fresh blood is vital.

There are four types of blood: A, B, O and AB which can be subdivided into Rh-positive and Rh-negative. AB Rh-positive is the universal recipient and O Rh-negative is the universal donor.

Who needs blood?

Blood transfusions are often needed for trauma victims due to accidents, burns, heart surgery, organ transplantation and patients undergoing treatment for leukemia (cancer of the blood or bone marrow), cancer and other diseases such as sickle cell disease (a hereditary blood disorder that affects the red blood cells and reduces the normal life span) and thalassemia (an inherited disorder leading to the decreases production and increases destruction of the red blood cells which leads to anemia).

Who can donate blood?

Ideally the blood donor should be:
1. 18 to 60 years of age and weight 45 kg or more.
2. In good health and has haemoglobin count not less than 12.5 g/dl with normal body temperature.
3. Has no history of serious illness and free of any disease at the time of donation.
4. Voluntary, unpaid donors who pass the physical and health history examinations prior to donation.

Who should not donate blood?

1. People with heart, kidney or liver disease and blood disorders.
2. Those who are on medication for diabetes or hypertension and those who have undergone major surgeries recently.
3. Those who have had an attack of jaundice, rubella (German measles), typhoid, malaria and people suffering from infections like AIDS, hepatitis and syphilis (a sexually transmitted infection).
4. Pregnant or breast feeding women and those who have recently had an abortion.
5. Those who have consumed alcohol in the last 48 hours or who are on steroids.
6. Drug addicts and those with multiple sex partners.

Some common misconceptions about blood donation:

1. Blood donation is bad for health.
2. It will result in a deficit of blood.
3. A day's rest is required after blood donation.
4. Common blood types like O-positive are readily available.
5. Blood donation may lead to infections like HIV.

The truth or facts about blood donation are:

1. Blood donation, in fact, helps to prevent accumulation of excess iron and reduces chances of cardiovascular diseases.
2. Blood volume returns to normal levels within 24 – 28 hours after donation.
3. You only need to avoid tough exercises or heavy lifting for 12 hours after donation.
4. Demand for common types is greater because of the numbers involved.
5. If new and sterilized needles are used, there is no risk of infections.

Conclusion:

Every hour of everyday, thousands of patients worldwide receive lifesaving transfusions of blood and blood products. Blood donations can save lives … provided, blood is safe. Automated NAT screening at Shija Blood Bank & Transfusion Services is to ensure the safest blood to the recipient by screening infectious agents like HIV 1 & 2, HBV and HCV. NAT PCR is the new gold standard technology for fast, reliable detection and helps bridge the gap between infection and detection of HIV, HCV or HBV. Become aware. Ask for only NAT tested blood. Because NAT tested blood = Safest blood.