Risky blood transfusion must stop

A recent media report on risky blood transfusion has raised serious concerns among patients and their relatives. It was alleged in the report that the government hospitals around the country are carrying out blood transfusion without proper tests. This is an awful phenomenon and it looks like that the system of safe blood transfusion in the country has totally collapsed. This is particularly a nightmarish situation for pregnant mothers and newborn babies. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) at least five tests; such as tests for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis-B, hepatitis-C and malaria are essential for blood to be transferred from one person to another. By not conducting essential tests prior to transferring blood we are actually committing a criminal offence and pushing innocent donors into grave danger.

I hereby urge upon the authorities concerned to take immediate steps to monitor the state of blood transfusion in public hospitals and thereby remove anomalies for safe transfer of blood to patients and protect human lives.

Md. Tarek Aziz Bappi

Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) ,University of Dhaka

[email protected]