Blood transfusion Act for Parliament approval

by Don Asoka Wijewardena
A new Blood Transfusion Act, Under the Tissue Transplant Act is to be submitted for Parliamentary approval soon.

Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Athula Khadaliyanage told The Island that the principal aim of the new Act would be to maintain adequate stocks of blood at the National Blood Centre with 100 per cent quality assurance.

He said that the amount of blood collected by the National Blood Centre annually was found to be inadequate to meet the demands.

The Health Ministry believes that when the new Act comes into effect, the National Blood Centre will be able to maintain adequate stocks of blood for the security forces at the battle front and patients.

He added that several studies had revealed that the blood collected by the National Blood Centre was not sufficient to meet the demands of the blood transfusion needs of the security forces and patients.

He said that the annual requirement of blood was around 300,000 pints but the National Blood Centre had been collecting only 200,000.

He said blood distribution had been streamlined by the National Blood Centre because unlike the private sector hospitals it was very rare that blood recipients had contracted deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS through blood transfusions.

Safety measures, precautions and sterilization of blood transfusing instruments have been prioritized in all State hospitals. The Health Ministry would be able to supply the required blood to all hospitals without interruption when the legislation comes into force, he said.

The Health Ministry has also planned to set up 9 regional blood centres and 27 district level blood centres to streamline the blood distribution system.