SBTA seals 13 illegal blood banks, issues warnings to 30 others

KARACHI: The Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA) has sealed 13 unauthorized blood banks across the Sindh province in 2020, while warnings were issued to 30 registered blood banks over various irregularities.

The SBTA teams inspected and monitored a total of 293 blood banks in 2020, out of which 13 illegal blood banks were sealed (7 in Ghotki, three in Rohri, and three in Sukkur), while warnings were also issued to 30 registered blood banks, including 14 in Karachi, 11 in Hyderabad, two Khairpur, two in Mirpurkhas, and one in Jamshoro.

Since the establishment of the SBTA in the year 2004 till 2020, the teams had visited 402 blood banks, out of which 165 were approved among registered blood banks (32 public, 82 private, & 51 NGO). A total of 237 illegal and unauthorized blood banks were closed so far, out of which 34 were registered, and 203 were substandard/illegal (14 public, 178 private, & 45 NGO).

The SBTA also conducted a seroprevalence study for evaluating the prevalence rate of COVID-19 among donors coming to the regional blood centers in the last year. The SBTA also played an active role in treating patients through convalescence plasma passive immunization therapy during the first phase of COVID-19, where the success rate was found to be around 74 percent.  

In terms of robust communication, awareness measures were provided for a voluntary non-remunerated donation of blood, convalescent plasma, social distancing practices, and PPE utilization. There was also a special emphasis on implementing safety measures related to COVID-19 in all the blood establishments of the province.