aatm e-newsletter€¦ · aatm e-newsletter volume 6, issue 1 asian association of transfusion...

AATM E-Newsletter Volume 6, Issue 1 Jan-Apr, 2015 Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine

AATM Relief Efforts in Nepal

On the request of the Chairperson, AATM-Nepal Chapter, Dr. Manita, AATM

Secretariat took immediate through AATM

resources. However, delivery of the

supplies was a challenge as only military

air crafts were operating from New Delhi.

AATM Joint Secretary (Dr. Amit Agarwal)

and Executive Member (Dr. Tulika

Chandra) took the lead and sent all

required materials through land route with

a Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government supply

convoy. UP Government has sent an additional 2000 kits for the Nepal victims

following the footsteps of AATM. Blood storage van was used for this purpose using

battery fitted charged boxes for road transportation.

Pakistan’s National Blood Policy and Strategic Framework launched by the Health Minister

The Safe Blood Transfusion Programme (SBTP), Ministry of National

Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, in collaboration with GiZ

organized the national dissemination of National Blood Policy and Strategic

Framework (2014-20) on March 5, 2015, in Islamabad. Honorable Minister

of Health, Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar was the Chief Guest. The function was

well attended by senior officials from the GiZ, KfW, WHO, UNAIDS,

representatives of provincial health departments and technical experts from

public and private sector institutions.

Speaking on the occasion, the Honorable Minister appreciated

the efforts of the dedicated and committed SBTP team. She

acknowledged the generous grant provided to the project by the

government of the Federal Republic of Germany through GiZ

and KfW. The formulation of the National Blood Policy is the first

exercise in the post devolution era where all provincial partners

are on board and a unified policy has been drafted. “The

government of Pakistan recognizes Health as a key for the

development of our great nation and blood safety and the

regulation of the blood sector is a key priority of the Ministry, she said. She appreciated the practical model of effective and

efficient regulation developed in Islamabad which needs to be emulated in the provinces now. The honorable Prime Minister of

Pakistan recently granted special exemption on all kind of taxes and charges for this project. And the continued commitment of

the government to this vital public health project will again be reiterated soon with the signing of the second phase Agreement

of the project with the German partners.

Prof. Hasan A. Zaheer, National Coordinator SBTP, introduced

the National Policy and Strategic Framework and the

systematic consultative approach adopted for developing the

policy document. The Framework provides orientation for

implementing blood safety system reforms to the national and

provincial blood transfusion programmes. Prof. Zaheer

appreciated the critical role played by the GIZ in the

implementation of the Programme. He also thanked all the

stakeholders involved in the national consultations. Prof.

Zaheer also presented the update of regulation in the Islamabad Capital Territory. He said under the kind patronage of Federal

Health Minister, Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar, the Islamabad region has become a model for blood safety regulation.

Earthquake in Nepal On behalf of the Editorial Team and all AATM members from sixteen countries, we express our solidarity with earthquake affected people from Nepal. We express our deep sympathy for all those who have lost their lives and property in this natural disaster. May God help people of Nepal by giving them strength to overcome this huge tragedy!


Voluntary Blood Donation Programme on Independence Day of Bangladesh

December is the victory month of Bangladesh as the country achieved independence in this

month in 1971. On this occasion, a Voluntary Blood Donation Programme was organized

jointly by AATM Bangladesh chapter and Department of Transfusion Medicine, Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) on December

31, 2014. The programme started with a brief session in

which Prof. Sharfuddin Ahmed, Dean of the Faculty of

Preventive & Social Medicine, discussed about the

coordination of global funds for AIDS, TB & Malaria. Dr.

Jamal Uddin Kholifa, Director of Dept. Human Resource Management also made a

presentation as well as Treasurer of the Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine

(AATM), Prof. Nittayananda Shil and Assistant Prof. Atiar Rahman. In addition, Dr. Sheikh

Saiful Islam presented and Prof. M.D. Asadul Islam, Secretary of AATM & Additional

Registrar, discussed the coordinated blood donation programme. Medical Officers,

Medical Laboratory Technologists, Medical students, FCPS Transfusion Medicine students, donor recruiters, patients &

patients’ relatives, participated in the programme. 20 blood donors donated blood on the occasion and the general focus was on

the awareness programmes for voluntary blood donation & organization of regular camps.

Operationalization of the First Transfusion Centre for Innovation in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

On February 23, 2015, the centre for innovation of

Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) became

functional. The Centre is located in the IBTO head

office in Tehran. In the opening ceremony, high-ranking

officials from Ministry of Health were invited to

inaugurate the first innovation centre in the region. The

Centre is set up as a complete miniature of a

“transfusion chain” from vein to vein, with all the

standard operating procedures (SOPs) and equipment

used by IBTO and hospitals. It has the flexibility and

the ability to vary any part of any of the processes in a

controlled test situation. The main activities of this

centre are to act as a training centre both internationally and nationally. IBTO has been

designated as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research & Training on Blood Safety

since 2013. This centre has been designed to be an international training centre

especially for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Nationally this centre is a training

facility for different groups; the blood transfusion services employees in different departments as well as blood bank employees,

nurses, midwifes and doctors in hospitals.

The Centre is also responsible for validation of new products, processes and

instrumentation - Conducting projects with new material or equipment which are not

currently permitted for use in IBTO and establishing new methods and procedures;

without affecting Iranian clinical blood product supply. The centre is a bridge between

blood transfusion services and the recipients: Blood recipients can arrange a time

and visit the centre.

Researchers, institutions or companies

interested in developing new products,

processes or technology for the transfusion medicine community are encouraged to

contact this centre. The centre provides an environment for innovators and scientists

to bring their novel ideas to be evaluated and be enhanced. Research and

Development on transfusion medicine which is not possible to be carried out in other

departments of IBTO due to strict regulations on blood safety can be performed in

the centre because of its flexible environment and high technology equipment.


AATM Participation in the 40th Annual Arab Health Conference, Dubai, UAE

The second largest healthcare congress and exhibition in the world, The Arab Health was held in Dubai, UAE from January 26-

29, 2015. Members of the AATM Governing Council participated in the exhibition including Dr. Farrukh Hasan, President, Prof.

H.A. Zaheer, Vice President, Dr. Nabajyoti Choudhury, Secretary General, Mr. Usman Waheed, Member Governing Council

and Mr. Asim Ansari, Organizing Committee AATM 2015.

The AATM team conducted meetings with corporate representatives and discussed collaboration between the industry and

AATM to promote the Association’s various blood safety initiatives including the organization of XIth Annual AATM Conference

in Islamabad, Pakistan from October 9-11, 2015. Meetings were held with the senior leadership of Ortho Clinical Diagnostics,

Abbott Laboratories, Roche Dagnostics, Fresinius Kabi, Griffols, Terumo BCT, Lmb Technologies, DiaSorin, BioRad, Thermo

Fisher Scientific, Trans-Asia Biomedicals, Green Cross Medical Science, Beckman Coulter, Olympus, and Siemens Healthcare

Diagnostics. The corporate sector partners lauded the AATM efforts to promote blood safety in the region and expressed keen

interest in participating in the Islamabad AATM conference.

Training Workshop on Advanced Immunohaematology

A dry workshop on “The Pulse of Transfusion Medicine 2015” was organized

on April 25, 2015, at the Regional Blood Transfusion Centre (East), Guru

Tegh Bahadur Hospital and University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi.

The workshop was organized in collaboration with AATM, Indian

Immunohematology Initiative, State Blood Transfusion Council, Govt. of Delhi

and Lions Blood Bank, Delhi, India. More than 100 participants attended the

workshop including Medical Officers, Residents, Clinicians, Technical staff,

Nursing staff and Councilors working in Blood Banks of Delhi. Fourteen

eminent faculty members from various academic institutions participated in the workshop as facilitators.

The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. B. K. Jain, Medical Superintendent of Guru Tegh Bahadur

Hospital, by lighting a lamp. The scientific session was chaired by Prof. R.N. Makroo from Apollo

Hospital, New Delhi and Dr. Veena Doda from Ram Manohar

Lohia Hospital, New Delhi. Dr. Jim Perkins and Ms. Martha

Rae Combs from Indian Immunohematology Initiative also

made presentations. The various topics covered in the

workshop were; Indications of RBC Transfusion Recent

Guidelines (Dr. Jim Perkins), ABO Blood Group

Discrepancies (Dr. Bharat Singh), Is it really Anti-D (Ms.

Martha), Prevalence of All-antibodies (Dr. Poonam

Srivasrtav), and Antibody Screening in Pregnancy (Dr. Sangeeta Pahuja).

Some interesting cases on immunohematology and thalassaemic children were also

presented by Dr. M. Swami, D.D.U. Hospital, Delhi and Dr. Preetri Diwakar, G.T.B.

Hospital, Delhi. A panel discussion on “Transfusion in Multi-transfused Patients” was moderated by Dr. Sangeeta Pathak from

Max Hospital. The panelists were Prof. Sunil Gomber, HOD Pediatrics, G.T.B. Hospital, Dr. Anil Gupta, E.S.I. Hospital, Dr.

Priyanka Gogoi, G.T.B. Hospital and Dr. Sadhna Mangwana from Sri Balajee Action Hospital, Delhi. The workshop ended with

a vote of thanks and felicitation to the speakers.


Meeting of Organizing Committee of AATM 2015 with Corporate Partners

As the XI Annual Conference of Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine is fast approaching, the official host of the event, the

Safe Blood Transfusion Programme, Pakistan along with some Karachi based members of the AATM organizing committee

conducted a meeting with the corporate partners in Karachi to discuss their participation in AATM 2015 conference.

The meeting was attended by

representatives of the Hospital

Supply Corporation, S-Ejazuddin

& Co, Hospicare Systems,

Muslim Trading Agencies,

Global Marketing Services,

Sindh Medical Stores, Hoora

Pharma, Basic Pharmaceuticals,

The Interex Company, Abbott

Laboratories, RocheDiagnostics,

Hi-Tech Instruments, Briogene

Pvt. Ltd, Medi-Techs

Instruments, Technology Links, Scientific Supplies, Merck (Pvt) Ltd, Zedco and Reag N Chem. The meeting updated the

partners on the latest preparations and devlopments and sought their support to make this event a success and help

demonstrate the impact of the blood safety systems reforms being implemented by the GoP with the support of the German

government through SBTP.

The organizing committee members who attended the meeting included Prof. Hasan Abbas Zaheer, SBTP, Prof. Akbar Agha,

DUHS, Dr. Muhammad Anwar, JPMC, Dr. Saeed Ahmed, HBB, Dr. Farrukh Hasan, AATM, Dr. Farheen Karim, AKUH, Mr. Bilal

Tareen, PIMS, and Mr. Usman Waheed, SBTP.

Advanced Immunohaematology Wet Workshop-The Pulse of Transfusion Medicine

A 5-day training workshop on advanced immuno-haematological techniques was

organized from April 20-24, 2015, by Lions Blood Bank, Delhi, in collaboration with Indian

immunohematology Initiative (III) and Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine (AATM).

The facilitators

included Dr. Jim

Perkins and Ms.

Martha Combs from

Indian immuno-

hematology Initiative. The workshop was attended by 15

participants including technicians and medical doctors from

public, private and NGO sector blood banks. The workshop

started with lighting of Panchdeep followed by welcome

address by Dr. Poonam Shrivastava, Medical Director,

Lions Blood Bank. Dr Nabajyoti Choudhury, Secretary

General, AATM, appreciated the efforts of Jim Perkins and

his team in improving the standard of IH testing in the region. The workshop was dedicated to Mr. Graham Smallridge of

Immucor Inc. as a mark of respect to his contribution towards development of immunohematology in the subcontinent and two

minute silence was observed.

The participants were provided independent work stations and

course material. The proceedings included lectures,

demonstrations, and practical work under close supervision of

the facilitators. The workshop was held in an interactive session

and during breaks (tea, lunch) the facilitators had an informal

discussions with the attendees. The topics covered were from

basics to advanced IH techniques, e.g. tube testing, the Indirect

Antiglobulin Test, blood typing and screening of antibody,

antibody identification (simple to complex problems), and

investigation of autoantibodies (elution, adsorption),etc.


Evaluation and feedbacks from the participants were taken on the last day of the workshop who greatly appreciated

organization of the workshop which was proven to be beneficial and must be replicated. The certificates and mementoes were

given to every participant by the facilitators. The Secretary of Lions Blood Bank, Lion JP Singh appreciated the facilitators for

their dedication and commitment. He also appreciated the assistance provided by the Immucor Inc. for providing reagents and

kits for the training.

Abstract Submission for the XI Annual Conference of the AATM

The XIth

AATM Annual Conference invites the submission of abstracts for original contribution in the fields of Transfusion and

Transplant Medicine. Abstracts will be accepted to be presented orally or as posters at the conference. Please submit abstracts

before August 31, 2015 at [email protected] . The maximum word count allowed is 500 words. Abstracts should be

structured as follows:

Background: indicate the purpose and objective of the research, the hypothesis that was tested or a description of the

problem being analyzed or evaluated.

Methods: describe the study period / setting / location, study design, study population, data collection and methods of

analysis used.

Results: present as clearly and as much in detail as possible the findings / outcome of the study, Please summarize any

specific results.

Conclusions: explain the significance of your findings / outcomes of the study, and future implications of the results.

Announcement We would greatly appreciate receiving an update from you on your current conditions, challenges, successes, and activities conducted during the reporting period, for publication in the upcoming newsletter. These updates are important because they help AATM to strengthen global outreach efforts, and they serve as an excellent indicator of various achievements Please send your news-items at [email protected] for inclusion in the quarterly E-Newsletter of AATM. *Editorial Board reserves the right to edit, adjust and publish/not-publish any and all of the materials we receive.

aatm e-newsletter€¦ · aatm e-newsletter volume 6, issue 1 asian association of transfusion...

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