Dr. Fazlullah Pechuho, Secretary Health Sindh and Mr. Wolfgang Moellers, Director KfW, inaugurated the Regional Blood Centre (RBC) in Jamshoro on May 13, 2018. The RBC has been developed by the German government grant through KfW-German Development Bank to the “Safe Blood Transfusion Project”. To manage the Jamshoro RBC, the Sindh government has outsourced its management to Indus Health Network under the private-public-partnership.

The RBC Jamshoro is equipped with modern, sophisticated medical equipment and has well trained and qualified staff to ensure the safe transfusion of blood as per the international standards. RBC has a capacity of collecting more than 50,000 blood donations per year and serves as blood procurement and distribution centre ensuring quality systems to regulate all activities which involve mobilization and retention of voluntary and regular blood donors, maintenance of donor database, collection of blood donations as well as processing, screening, testing, component preparation and storage of the prepared components. The blood is collected from voluntary blood donors on walk-in basis as well as through blood camps arranged by the donor motivation and recruitment teams of RBC visiting educational institutions and other public places. The collected blood is screened for Hepatitis B, C, AIDS, Syphilis and malaria on Chemiluninescense (CLIA) technology. From every unit of blood collected at least three blood components are produced to save three different lives. The RBC Jamshoro is licensed by the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA) to maintain the standards of blood transfusion services.

The RBC also has a well-equipped mobile blood donation bus that has two interview rooms; four beds; and a waiting area to accommodate 10 donors. The bus has all facilities to save blood donations.

The Jamshoro RBC is linked to six HBBs in the region. Linkages with HBBs in Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Jamshoro, LUMHS City Campus Hyderabad, Civil Hospital Thatta are functional. The other three HBBs will also be connected to the RBC soon.

RBC Jamshoro regularly arranges various awareness seminars and activities in different educational institutes of the region to promote voluntary blood donations. The Facebook Feature is also used to mobilize voluntary donors. Rationale use of blood and component therapy is also activity promoted in close coordination with the clinicians.  The RBC also organizes capacity building workshops, trainings and seminars for clinicians and technicians in the region. RBC Jamshoro has received exchange visit from the Quetta RBC staff to share the best practices and strategies adapted by the centre for the capacity building of the Quetta RBC. As a result of the impressive performance of the RBC, commercial blood banking widely prevalent in the region earlier has been eliminated and the patients as well as their service providers has received much needed relief.

The RBC has been visited by the Health Minister, local dignitaries and other national and international dignitaries. They not only appreciated the services being provided but were also impressed with the quality of services in the RBC.