MANGALORE: Wenlock Hospital is set to become the first district-level government hospital in the country to acquire equipment for blood component separation.

Blood component separation helps prevent wastage of blood. The method allows the various components of blood such as plasma, platelets and corpuscles to be separated, so that patients can be administered the specific component they require.

Several private hospitals use component separation, but they charge more than Rs. 1,000 for this and the cost depends on the component that the patient requires.

At Wenlock Hospital, it will be provided free of cost.

Speaking to The Hindu , Bharathi Nirmal, District Surgeon and Superintendent, Wenlock Hospital, said the cost of the equipment was estimated at Rs. 1 crore.

Of this, equipment worth Rs. 75 lakh had been acquired and the remaining was expected to arrive in a day or two. Technicians had been sent to Bangalore for a training course and the license would soon be obtained, Dr. Nirmal said. The equipment would be functional in a few months.

In the past year, equipment worth Rs. 6 crore had been acquired by the hospital through contributions.

Recently, the Parsee Association donated ophthalmic equipment worth Rs. 4.5 lakh to the hospital through the Rotary Club of Mangalore, Dr. Nirmal said.

The equipment donated was a phaecomulsification unit which would help conduct cataract surgeries with ease.

Two lifts at a total cost of Rs. 43 lakh had also been installed at the hospital. "The lifts will start operating as soon as we hire a liftman. We are trying to provide employment to a disabled person," she added.

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