BPCL to handover blood component seperator equipment to IRCS

Blood bank gets equipment worth 1 cr; Unit will start functioning once it gets license 

The Bharath Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) as a part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) has donated blood component seperator unit equipment worth Rs 1 crore to Lady Goschen Hospital to be used in the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) Blood Bank.

The formal handing over of the equipment will be done by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M Veerappa Moily on March 5 at 7.30 pm, informed MLA J R Lobo.

Addressing a press meet at IRCS Blood Bank at Lady Goschen Hospital premises here on Saturday, he said that though the IRCS had requested the BPCL to provide blood component seperator equipment, the BPCL donated the same to Lady Goschen hospital as they don’t have provision to donate to any societies (IRCS is a society). Union Minister Veerappa Moily and the then deputy commissioner Dr Chennappa Gowda were instrumental in getting the equipment, he said. The equipment include refrigerator centrifuge (component seperator which costs Rs 32.7 lakh), deep freezers that maintain fresh frozen plasma at minus 80 degree celcius, blood collection monitors and donor’s couch (4 sets), each costing Rs 4.53 lakhs.

MUDA former chairman Tejomaya said that out of the Rs 1 crore, a sum of Rs 70 lakh has been utilised for the blood bank component seperator equipment and plans are on the anvil to buy a generator set in the remaining funds, to run the blood bank.Lady Goschen Superintendent Dr Shakunthala M Mugadur said that the hospital has plans to go for accreditation (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Health Care providers) once the new hospital building comes up.

She also said that though the existing blood bank (licensed to issue whole human blood) license is valid till March 18, 2018, the blood bank has to avail new license from the Drugs Controller General (India), Directorate General of Health Services under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (New Delhi) and it may take about a month to get the license.

Following the license, the blood bank can provide packed red cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelet concentrate and cryoprecipitte.

Earlier, Indian Red Cross Society (DK unit) Chairperson Prabhakar Sriyan said that ever since the Red Cross Society set up the blood bank in the Lady Goschen Hospital premises, it has provided free blood to all BPL card holders in government hospitals and it charges only Rs 700 per unit for those admitted in private hospitals, without asking for any replacement of blood unlike private hospitals who charge more than Rs 1,250 per unit with replacement. In addition, Thalassaemia, hemophilia patients and HIV positive patients in both government and private hospitals will be given blood free of cost.

Besides Union Minister M Veerappa Moily, Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, District-in-Charge Minister B Ramanath Rai, Health Minister U T Khader and Youth Services Minister Abhayachandra Jain will take part in the programme. BPCL Executive Director Keshav V Shenoy will be present.