BMC set to get Rs 125cr grant for blood bank …………Madhavi Rajadhyaksha I TNN
Mumbai: The BMC is all set to construct a state-of-the-art Metro Blood Bank, thanks to the Centres promise of a generous grant of Rs 125 crore. It would be the second such mega blood bank for the city, with the state governments own Metropolitan Blood Bank scheduled to be inaugurated shortly at the JJ Hospital complex in Byculla.
Civic officials have already zeroed in on a plot in the old army barracks of Sion Hospital for its Metro Blood Bank. We should begin construction in three months and it should be ready within two years, additional municipal commissioner Kishore Gajbhiye told TOI. The BMC is still awaiting the grant from the Centre, though a proposal has already been chalked out.
The civic Metro Bank, targeted as a centre of excellence, will be spread across an area of 75,000 sq ft. As it would be the mother blood bank for smaller and private banks in the city, we are targeting a blood collection of 1 to 1.5 lakh units annually, said Dr Urmi Chakravarty-Vartak who heads Sion Hospitals blood bank facility. This is a major jump from the 20,000 units per year otherwise collected at Sion Hospital.
The high-tech facility would be both a service centre as well as a referral centre, explained Sion Hospital dean Sandhya Kamat. It would not just boost voluntary blood donation but would come handy in times of disaster. On the cards is a fully automated set-up for blood testing and facilities that would provide all types of blood components. It would also boast of futuristic technology to conduct research on stems cells and artificial blood. Currently, we use the manual ELISA system for testing. Once automated, we would be able to run more blood samples and reduce the error rate significantly, said Dr Chakravarty-Vartak.
The civic body also plans to recruit staff to man the blood bank. For the city of Mumbai, the Metro bank would be the second such facility after the Metropolitan blood bank which is almost ready and waiting to be inaugurated.