Medical science is advancing with record rapidity. One indispensable component that has been behind this fast forward progress is blood transfusion service – be it routine or emergency cases or complex medical and surgical intervention. Hence Blood transfusion service is a vital part of health care. Increasing advancement in the field of transfusion medicine has necessitated enforcing measures to ensure the quality of Blood and its products. Father Muller Medical College Blood Centre (Blood Bank) was established in the year 1988, under the able guidance of Dr. B Sanjeev Rai, presently, the Chief of Research Centre.The Blood Centre functions after getting a valid license from Drug Controller General , Central Licensing authority and State Licensing Authority.In 2002, the Blood Centre ( Blood Bank) was shifted to Asha Kiran, Ground Floor. Blood component separation was started in September 2007 under the guidance of the thenBlood bank Medical Officer, Dr. Indira S Bangera. Later from September 2007 till September 2011, Dr. Hilda Fernandes was the Incharge of Blood Bank with Dr. Jayaprakash C.S on rotation as Blood Bank Officerfor a period of four years.
In October 2011, Dr. Kirana Pailoor was made Incharge of the Blood Centre (Blood Bank). Under her leadership, many initiatives were introduced since 2012 such as monthly functioning of Hospital Transfusion Committee( HTC) and events such as World Blood Donor Day and National Voluntary Blood Donation day were held every year since 2012. The policy-making of transfusion therapy was established through the discussions at HTC.Expansion of infrastructure was given prime importance and equipments like Deep freezers,Blood bank refrigerators, and refrigerated centrifuge were procured. CLIA (Chemiluminescence Immunoassay) for infectious disease testing (HBV,HCV, and HIV) of blood donors was introduced in 2016. In 2018, an Automated Platform known as “ORTHO VISION” was introduced for pretransfusion testing. CMEs on Transfusion Medicine titled as TRANSCME were organised in the year 2013 and 2017.
Over the years, Blood Centre (Blood bank) has now expanded from a mere seed to a blossoming tree by the blessings of Almighty, the immense support and guidance of our Management and the entire Blood bank team. Presently, Blood Centre (Blood Bank) which was functioning under the Department of Pathology, has now been transformed into a new department as Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion on 3 rd February 2022, headed by Professor Dr. Kirana Pailoorand comprises of two teaching faculty, twotechnical supervisors, and 11 technologistsand is accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH).
The main goal of thedepartment is to provide a safe and efficient transfusion service that is based on Voluntary blood donation. The department maintainsthehighest standard of carefor patients and donors in all aspects of blood banking and transfusion medicine.
The Department has been a part of Hemovigilance Program of India (HvPI) since 2015. The Department stays connected with the Centralized Blood Inventory Management System(e- rakthkosh) and state inventory management system (Jeeva Sanjeevini).It seeks to constantly improve by upgradation.
To be recognized as a supplier of safe blood and blood components and to ensure that no one suffers for the want of blood or blood components in our hospitals.
Voluntary blood donation campsare organized regularlyto maintain our active donor base and collection levels. Events like Donor Felicitation ceremony on World Blood Donor Day is conducted every year on 14 th June to honourandencourage the voluntary blood donors and camp organizers to continue entertaining their support to us. National Voluntary Blood Donor Day is celebrated every year on 1 st October to promote and increase the awareness of blood donation. As a token of appreciation for donating blood for six months from the date of donation we offer the following services free:
We Organize Intra & inter-college competitions for Under Graduates, Post Graduates, M.Sc. MLT, B.Sc. MLT and Allied Health Sciences on various occasions like World Blood Donor Day and National Voluntary Blood Donation Day. Our students take part actively in various competitions.We give awareness talks in various social media and in Colleges regarding Voluntary Blood Donation.
We organize CMEs with Quiz as one of the component and guest lectures by inviting the frontiers in the field of transfusion medicine.
We guide the students in STS ICMR UG Projects, Various studies and in MSc MLT Projects. We encourage students to take part in Poster, Paper and various competitions in CMEs and Conferences. Students have brought laurels by winning prizes in Poster and Paper presentations.
We are accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH).HTC meetings are currently conducted once every two months according to NABH guidelines. We participate in an external quality assurance program (proficiency program)conducted by Christian Medical College, Vellore once in 3 months and Blood bank External Quality Assessment Scheme, Jaipur once in four months and we have been doing well in EQAS .Management review and internal audits of all elements of the system are performed both at regular intervals to verify that operations continueto adhereto the requirements of the quality management system.