New facility launched for safe blood transfusion
Times News Service
MUSCAT: At a total cost of more than OMR500,000, the Ministry of Health launched Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT), which detects hepatitis B & C, as well as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
According to the Ministry, NAT is an addition to the 10 laboratory tests carried out by blood banks in the ministry to ensure the safety of blood transfusion.
The Ministry of Health (MoH), represented by the Blood Banks Services Department, launched NAT under the patronage of Dr. Mohammed bin Saif Al Hosni, MoH Undersecretary for Health Affairs, at Crown Plaza Hotel.
Blood banks
Dr. Zainab Al-Arimi, Director of the Blood Banks Services Department, said: “The Ministry of Health has made continuous efforts to provide safe blood by implementing a number of strategies and policies, starting from stopping the import of blood and relying entirely on the generosity of the Sultanate’s citizens and residents.”
She added, “The NAT is a highly sensitive testing technique detecting hepatitis B & C, as well as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.”
Al Arimi said: “Introducing this new technique has gone through many challenges in terms of the provision of financial resources, establishing the appropriate place at the Central Blood Bank and the process of transporting samples from all blood banks around the Sultanate within 72 hours and connecting them electronically. This challenge was overcome through the cooperation between the blood banks of the Governorates and the Royal Air Force of Oman to transfer the samples from the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah, Masirah Hospital and Dibba Hospital regularly.”
Al-Arimi also said, “So far, we were able to test 47,000 blood units, which have been collected from 12 blood banks from across the Sultanate, by the NAT technique.”