Mohali Civil Hospital gets upgraded blood component separation unit

Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Research Minister of Punjab Dr Balbir Singh today inaugurated the upgraded blood component separation unit at the Civil Hospital, Mohali. He also launched two blood collection and transpiration vans.

Addressing the gathering of nursing and medical students, besides the college staff, the minister said the state’s achievement of getting 3rd national rank in voluntary blood donation in the country had boosted the morale of people.

Earlier, the state had 26 blood component and separation units in the government sector, and this was the 27th such unit at the Civil Hospital Mohali. This upgraded unit will make available packed red cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelets, platelet concentrate, cryoprecipitate and platelets-rich plasma that will be separated by this unit from the blood of a single person. Earlier, this facility was not available here.

Eight more blood centres to blood component separation units - Indian Red Cross Ludhiana, Rajpura, Malerkotla, Kotkapura, Batala, Fazilka, Khanna and Anandpur Sahib - are soon going to be upgraded. To make the availability of whole blood, four new blood centres have been planned to set up at Sunam, Dera Bassi, SBS Nagar and Samana.

The facility of whole blood and blood components is available free of cost to patients getting treatment at the Civil Hospital.

Punjab has 182 licensed blood centres. Out of this, 49 are being run by government health facilities, seven by military and 126 by private institutes.

“The blood collection and transportation vans launched today will be beneficial for outdoor camps. These vans have a capacity to store 100 units at a time with two couches for donation,” he said.