Register with NBTS for 'SMS blood service'

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) which is running under the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition is rendering an excellent service to the public in the country for over five decades.

The new NBTS headquarters at Narahenpita was opened in November 2006 and the country's first Blood Bank (The Central Blood Bank) was established in the latter part of the 1950s at the General Hospital premises in Colombo.

According to available reports, the first blood transfusion was done on former Prime Minister S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1959.

In an exclusive interview with NBTS Director, Dr. Ananda Gunasekera said, NBTS has been given the sole authority by the Health Ministry to collect blood from donors and also distribute it for the use of patients in Government and private hospitals.

"Since the requirement for blood has sharply increased day by day, the Health Department was compelled to establish 15 cluster blood banks and 60 other blood banks in Government hospitals countrywide.

Dr. Gunasekera also said that around 300,000 units of blood is required annually to provide an adequate service to the people in the country and this requirement was exceeded in some years, especially during the year 2008.

"It was due to a large number of persons who were compelled to donate blood for the sake of injured war heroes, who fought in the Northern battlefront during that period," he said.

He said, at present four private hospitals in the country also obtain blood directly from donors.

Asked how the NBTS distributes blood to other hospitals, he said when a Government or a private hospital needs blood, they could obtain it either from the NBTS headquarters, Narahenpita or any other blood bank that is close to the hospital.

He said blood is not sold under any circumstances and it is issued free.

"However, a nominal fee is charged from private hospitals in order to cover the processing costs," he said.

Speaking further on the newly commenced `SMS Blood' service,

Dr. Gunasekera highly valued this service and said donors countrywide who wish to donate blood could get themselves registered with the NBTS via `SMS blood service'.

He said donors should not visit the NBTS for registration and they could get it done by indicating the `blood' group in an SMS to 7777.

"When blood is required, the NBTS informs the donors via SMS.

"Although this is a new method in our country this type of programs are currently conducted in many other countries very successfully," he said.

"Thereafter the SMS gets stored in the database and the project staff follows it by calling the registered donor and getting the necessary information and updating it on the database,"

He said the project staff then arranges an appointment for the donor to come and donate blood at any of the collection centres islandwide.

"In case a donor needs blood, then the project staff arrange that facility too," he said.

When asked about the necessary criteria to donate blood,

Dr. Gunasekera said that donors who are between 18-60 years of age, in good health and over 50 kg in weight could donate blood.

"Those who were infected with dangerous diseases such as HIV/ Aids, hepatitis, Malaria or syphilis are not permitted to donate blood,"

He said persons with diabetes too could donate blood, unless the patient controls the disease by drugs.

"However, the collected blood is once again examined at the NBTS laboratories," he said.

He said in the past when patients needed blood, the required blood was released after making a `Replacement Donation', but this system is practised no more by the blood bank authorities due to adequate blood stocks currently available in islandwide blood banks.

Asked whether the current stocks in blood banks are adequate to meet emergency situations, Dr. Gunasekera said that there is no limit to collect blood, if more and more donors wish to donate blood, the NBTS or any other blood bank is willing to collect blood.

He also said 80 per cent blood is collected by conducting blood donation campaigns at various places in the country and a large number of social service centres are established in schools, offices and other public societies to make the program a success.

Dr. Gunasekera further said a blood bank has already been established in Chettikulam for the benefit of Internally Displaced Persons.

Dr. Senarath Jayasekara, Dr. Neetha Manthiratne, Dr.Lakmali Morawaka and Dr. Anoja Herath also joined the discussion.