Transfusion Medicine A Gamechanger In Medical Science, Say Experts In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: With the emergence of transfusion medicine as a separate clinical and scientific branch
in medical science and advancement in technology, significant progress has been made in this domain in the country in the last one decade, said experts on Friday.

More and more blood centres, which are developing gradually across the country, are adopting new technology
like automation, computerisation and sensitive advanced techniques, said Dr Sudipta Sekhar Das, Senior Consultant and Head, Transfusion Medicine, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Kolkata, while speaking at the 4th annual Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme in the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar.

“We witnessed significant development in Transfusion Medicine during the last one decade as very little was
known about the subject 20 years ago,” Dr Das said.

The subject of the CME was ‘Headway in Transfusion Medicine: Special Emphasis on Pediatric and Neonatology
Patients.’ Around 150 delegates, including experts in Transfusion Medicine, senior faculties of different departments, junior residents, postgraduate students and staff members of Transfusion Medicine from other hospitals, attended the programme.

Prof Girija Nandini Kanungo, Head of Department of Transfusion Medicine at IMS and SUM Hospital, said
the Blood Centre, which was started in 2005 was looking after the operational services as also academics. While it
registered an average blood collection of 3 to 5 units per day and issued around three units initially, it had increased to an average collection 100 units daily and issue of 175 units, she added.

The Transfusion Medicine department, she said, was regularly doing Stem Cell Apheresis while other kinds of
therapeutic Apheresis procedures were provided to needy patients round the clock. The facility to have Stem Cell
Apheresis enabled the hospital to take up Stem Cell Transplantation to treat different kinds of blood cancer at
affordable prices.

“In all cases, the Individual Donor– Nucleic Acid Testing (ID-NAT) was being done by the Blood Centre to reduce
the risk of transfusion transmitted infection in the recipient and thereby providing an additional layer of blood safety,” she said.

Addressing the inaugural session of the CME, Prof Nilakantha Mishra, Director, State Blood Transfusion Council, said the blood collection in Odisha was more than 4 lakh units per annum against the requirement of around five lakh units. “There is still a demand-supply mismatch and the government is making efforts to ensure safety in blood transfusion,” he added.

Dr Urmila Mishra, Director, Odisha State AIDS Control Society, Prof Sanghamitra Mishra, Dean of IMS and
SUM Hospital and Prof Pusparaj Samantasinhar, Medical Superintendent of the Hospital also spoke.