The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Probe into Chiru blood bank

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Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Probe into Chiru blood bank

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: A five-member panel of experts has been constituted by the government to go into the functioning of blood bank run by Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust after the Praja Rajyam leader himself petitioned the Chief Minister seeking an inquiry into allegations by his detractors.

Disclosing this at a press conference here on Monday, AP State Aids Control Society Project Director R.V. Chandravadan said the committee whose convenor is M.N. Kishore, Joint Director, APSACS, would submit its report to the government by Sept. 20.

Meanwhile, following Government's acceptance of another committee's report, around 127 standalone private blood banks in all the districts were proposed to be closed and converted into blood storage centres.

Each district would have only one main blood bank for collection and processing at the district headquarters hospital.

The aim was to provide safe and quality blood, Mr. Chandravadan said.

The modalities for implementing the proposal including its timeframe would be finalised shortly, Mr. Kishore, who is a member of the committee, said.

Mr. Chandravadan announced that the HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS) this year was being scaled up and would be carried out in 91 sites, including 63 Ante Natal Clinics (ANCs) and those covering 31 High Risk Groups (HRGs).

Truckers' surveillance would be initiated for the first time in HSS to be launched next month.

He said while HIV prevalence among general population came down from 1.63 per cent in 2004 in the State to 1 per cent in 2009, preliminary findings indicated that it continued to be high among men who have sex with men (MSM - 23 per cent) female sex workers (11.4 per cent), injecting drug users (IDU- 6.91 per cent).

Though the prevalence declined or remained stable in HRGs of coastal Andhra, districts like Warangal, Khammam, Adilabad and Nalgonda have emerged as the new hot spots of HIV prevalence.

He said the first national conference on voluntary blood donation would be held at Leonia Resorts, Shamirpet on September 14 and 15.

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