Blood Bank & Transfusion Services

Funded by:-
NEC, Shillong, Govt of India & Planning Department, Govt. of Manipur

An overview of Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services

Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services, a paradigm of Private Public Partnership (PPP) in NE India, is being funded by North Eastern Council (NEC), Govt. of India through the Planning Department, Govt. of Manipur. It is being implemented by Shija Healthcare and Research Institute, a sister concern NGO of Shija Hospitals and Research Institute Pvt. Ltd. The NGO, was conceived with a vision to render international quality healthcare and all round development in Manipur and its neighbouring states.

Objective of the blood bank

• Meet the shortage of blood of Manipur & its neighbouring states
• Ensure safety and quality of blood through state of the art highly reliable technologies
• Render the best service to the society

Salient features

Shija Blood Bank and Transfusion Services, is equipped with state of the art facilities like Apheresis and Neucleic Acid Test (NAT), apart from the normal component seperation and requisite advanced laboratory for blood screening.

Apheresis: 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 Only the required component is then withdrawn and the remaining components are re - transfused into the donor. The components which can be separated and withdrawn include, plasma (plasmapheresis), platelets (plateletpheresis) and leukocytes(leukapheresis). 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.

Nucleic Acid Test: Often called “NAT” or nucleic acid amplification test “NAAT” is a biochemical technique used to detect a virus or bacteria. These tests were developed 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 9th Centre in India and first in Eastern India to install COBAS S201. WIth high prevalence rate of HIVAIDS in the region, the window period for HIV1 and HIV2 is now reduced to 9 days with the help of this machine and thereby ensuring the safest blood to the recipient. According to World Health Organization, a country needs a minimum stock of blood equal to 1% of its population, This means India needs 12 million units of blood, but only nine million units are collected annually. India has the highest number of deaths from road accidents, according to WHO. Loss of blood is a major factor in these deaths. Dearth of blood donors, ill equipped blood banks, injudicious use of samples and lack of trained staff aggravate the shortage and wastage of life saving blood. According to the protocol specified NACO, 25% of all blood collected by a blood bank has to kept aside as buffer stock, to be used only in case of emergencies. However, only 20% of the blood banks follow the protocol strictly. Manipur too feels shortage of blood during emergencies like bomb blasts. With a population of about 28 lacs,the minimum requirement for Manipur is 28 thousand units of blood, whereas only 15 thousand units on an average is collected annually. But these are official estimates, doctors believe that the actual demand is at least five times more.

Blood transfusions often are needed for trauma victims due to accidents and burns, heart surgery, organ transplantation, and patients undergoing treatment for leukemia, cancer and other diseases such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

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.

Who needs blood?

Blood transfusions often are needed for trauma victims due to accidents and burns, heart surgery, organ transplantation, and patients undergoing treatment for leukemia, cancer and other diseases such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

Blood groups

Based on the presence or absence of particular antigen (a protein) in the red blood cells, scientists have classified blood groups as A, B, O and AB. Blood groups are again divided into positive and negative depending on the presence of another antigen, the Rhesus factor (Rh factor).

Who can donate blood?

Ideally the blood donor should be:

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

Who should not donate blood?

• People with heart, kidney or liver disease and blood disorders
• Those who are on medication for diabetes or hypertension and those who have undergone major surgeries recently
• Those who have had an attack of jaundice, rubella(German measles), typhoid, malaria and people suffering from infections like AIDS, hepatitis and syphilis
• Pregnant or breast feeding women and those who have recently had an abortion
• Those who have consumed alcohol in the last 48 hours or who are on steroids

Some common misconceptions

False

True

• Blood donation, in fact , helps to prevent accumulation of excess iron and reduces chances of cardiovascular diseases.
• Blood volume returns to normal levels within 24 - 48 hours after donation
• You only need to avoid tough exercises or heavy lifting for 12 hours after donation
• Demand for comon types is greater because of the numbers involved
• If new and sterilised needles are used, there is no risk of infections