Illegal blood transfusions on rise in Balochistan

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QUETTA, Pakistan – The blood pumping through Balochistan’s blood banks might be doing more harm than good.

Residents of Quetta and other cities of Balochistan risk health problems as many private blood banks and pathology laboratories are being run without qualified pathologists and mandatory licenses from the provincial Health Department of Balochistan.

That has opened the door for contaminated blood to be sold to those in need.

“It is very easy to buy and sell unscreened blood in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan, putting the health of patients suffering from different diseases at stake”, social worker Mumtaz Hussain, 35, told Central Asia Online.

Habib Nulla, for example, is a populated area where drug addicts hang out. The addicts draw blood from themselves with used syringes. After collecting the blood, the addict sells it to the blood bank, which fails to test the blood.

It’s a supply-and-demand cycle. Sick people need the blood; the blood banks need people to provide them with blood; the drug addicts need the money blood banks pay for blood.

Mohammad Khan, 40, a drug addict, relies on selling blood to pay for his habit.

“It is a part of my routine. Whenever I transfuse blood from my body, I can easily find a blood bank to consume it after paying me Rs. 400 to 600 (US$ 5 to 7) per bag, which I use for buying drugs to fulfil my requirements”.

Deputy Director, Health Services Balochistan, Dr. Mazaar Baloch told Central Asia Online, “The government is trying to maintain the safe blood transfusion system in the province, but due to a lack of resources, it is not properly managed yet”.

“The provincial government has established two committees to regulate the system and to effectively implement the safe blood transfusion authority” he said.

Dr. Qamar, of Balochistan Clinical and Laboratories Department, said “There are 130 pathology labs operating in Quetta and other parts of the province of Balochistan, but of these, only 35 labs are registered with the Health Department”.

“According to the record, there are only 32 qualified pathologists in Balochistan who are legally authorized to properly run pathology labs by the rules. Most of other blood banks and pathology labs that are operating in other districts -- including Sibi, Mastung Khuzdar, Dalbandin, Kalat, Jaffarabad, Dera Murad Jamali, Jhal Magsi, Pishin, Loralai and Hub -- are reportedly violating the law by having no qualified pathologists and licenses from Provincial Health Department”, he said .

When asked why the government is not taking proper action against those who are running illegal blood banks and labs, Qamar replied, “In action against some labs, 14 illegal pathology labs were sealed in Quetta during the last couple of months while cases were also filed in courts against eight people who are being investigated”.

Governmental and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are spending millions of rupees to stop the illegal blood transfusion business and make the people aware of it, but due to lack of management and improper monitoring, its objectives have not been reached.

The federal government has moved toward establishing a Federal Blood Transfusion Authority. With such an agency, it will be able to look into the matter all over the country and surveillance teams would be able to take action against the blood banks and people violating the law, Qamar said.

Dr. Nasir Khan, Manager Provincial AIDS Control Program Balochistan, told Central Asia Online, “Blood transfusion through illegal means is an alarming threat owing to illegal blood banks functioning in the region”.

“Cases of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B or C, malarial parasites, diabetes and other diseases are increasing all over Balochistan due to the illegal practice of unscreened blood transfusion”, he said. Lack of awareness of the problem has contributed to the number of cases of HIV-infected people surpassing 160 in Balochistan, he said.