PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry wants private hospitals and healthcare facilities to adopt the revised guidelines by the National Blood Bank and the ministry to ensure the safety of blood stocks.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the reminder comes after a medical centre was recently asked to pay RM896,000 to an accident victim who had recieved HIV-contaminated blood during a transfusion in 2005.
The incident has raised the ministry’s concern over the safety of blood transfusion services, Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement today.
He said private healthcare facilities should take extra precautions to prevent complications in blood transfusion processes or services.
“A private healthcare facility or service providing blood transfusion and blood donation programmes must ensure the safety of the donors and recipients, and should draw up criteria as well as standards for blood donor recruitment, selection and care.
“Such criteria and standards should be consistent with the ministry’s Code of Ethics for Blood Donation and Transfusion, as stated in the Eleventh Schedule of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Regulations 2006.
“Appropriate controls shall be required to verify that blood transfusions practices meet international standards and that guidelines issued in accordance with the Code are followed,” he said in a statement.
He said blood donation and transfusion activities in the private healthcare settings were governed through the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586) and the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services (Private Hospitals and Other Private Healthcare Facilities) Regulations 2006.
Dr Noor Hisham said Section 60 of Act 586 stated that licensed private healthcare facilities providing emergency services regularly or surgical services must maintain a minimum blood supply on its premises or be in a position to obtain blood quickly from other licensed blood banks or government facilities.
For licensing purposes, it was compulsory for private healthcare facilities to have an agreement with blood banks or government facilities to supply blood and blood products when the need arises, Dr Noor Hisham added.
Blood bank services, blood transfusion services or blood donation programmes must adhere to requirements set out in under Part XXI in the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Regulations 2006, he said.
The ministry also called upon prospective blood donors to provide accurate answers in the donor questionnaire and not to use donation sites to test their HIV status, Dr Noor Hisham said.
“Ensuring the safety and availability of blood is also the responsibility of the community and individual blood donors.
“In many parts of the world, it has been shown that voluntary non-remunerated blood donors are the safest donors.
“Each healthcare facility that conducts blood donation must assess prospective donors individually for his/her suitability to donate blood using a well-structured questionnaire during the pre-donation interview,” he said, adding that safe blood comes from safe donors.