< Blood Service News - 23.09.2009

Regional blood services developed in Thailand

A regional Blood Centre is under construction in Phuket, Thailand. The project aims to develop regional blood services in the six Andaman Sea provinces and it is organised by the Thai and Finnish Red Cross Societies.

–-  This is a considerable step forwarded in the development of the Thai Red Cross Blood Services. New technology will be implemented, for example blood bag systems which have until now only been in use at the Thai Red Cross National Blood Centre, says Marko Lahikainen (in the picture) who works as part of the Phuket Blood Centre project.

The objective of this co-operative effort is to secure the availability of blood in local hospitals and to improve the quality and safety of blood components. Currently blood is collected and processed by local hospitals. In the future Thai Red Cross Society is going to take responsibility in collecting blood and providing blood components to hospitals in the six Andaman Sea provinces.

The Blood Centre will open at the end of 2009 and will provide services to 7 regional hospitals and some smaller institutes in the provinces of the Andaman Sea, including Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Ranong, Trang and Satun.
The total population of these provinces is 2.5 million. This area suffered greatly in the 2004 tsunami.

Phuket's Blood Centre sets an example

At the moment, Thailand has a mainly mixed system where blood services are provided by the Thai Red Cross and the largest hospitals.
There is no legislation governing blood services and no licensing system. Hence, the quality of Blood Services varies greatly in different parts of the country, while hospitals suffer from a shortage of blood components.

The Blood Centre under construction in Phuket is the country’s first regional full-service organisation providing blood services, and it will set an example to other regions. The new centre in Phuket will collect blood, produce blood components, perform testing on blood components and deliver the components to local hospitals.

On site we have three Finnish relief workers (two from the FRCBS) and two local workers. In addition to construction and design, Finnish expertise is also needed in equipment procurement, personnel training, the design and launch of processes, and in quality assurance.

– Implementing modern practices will improve the safety and quality of blood products through, for example, improved HIV testing of first time donors (NAT). The Blood Centre opening next year will offer a range of blood-related patient tests, consultation on blood component use, and training in blood transfusion therapy to hospitals, Lahikainen lists.

Exchanging experiences and knowledge between the Thai and Finnish experts forms an important part of this co-operation.

Mobile blood service units launch operations

The first mobile blood service unit in Phuket will begin operating in the spring of 2009. Recruitment, conducted by the Thai Red Cross, has already begun.
All members of staff will be trained and participate in an orientation programme in the Thai Red Cross National Blood Centre in Bangkok.
During the start-up, the mobile unit will deliver the collected whole blood units to hospitals in the provinces, which will in turn process the whole blood for treating patients. In the future, the Phuket Blood Centre will provide centralised blood component production, testing and delivery.

Launching regional blood services and building blood centres form one of the joint operations carried out by the Finnish and Thai Red Cross organisations in the tsunami area.

The Finnish Red Cross is participating based on a contribution of MEUR 2, half of which is being spent on building regional centre and the remaining half on equipment, launching the mobile blood services, and on expert counselling.
In support of the regional blood service system, the Finnish Red Cross has subsidised the employment of 6 blood coordinators and work carried out in the Andaman Sea provinces since the summer of 2006. The coordinators contribute to the local Red Cross’s operations by assisting in the recruitment of voluntary donors and disseminating information on blood and blood donations.
In addition to the blood service project, the Finnish Red Cross has rebuilt small hospitals in the tsunami area, organised first aid training and health education classes, and participated in the development of rescue services at sea.

Pictures: Marko Lahikainen, Jarno Alén and Hannu-Pekka Laiho