LAHORE: Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafiq says legislation is being carried out for safe blood transfusion and a draft bill has been presented to the standing committee of the Punjab Assembly.

Speaking at a seminar and launch of the hepatitis prevention programme by the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) here on Thursday, he said the scrutiny of the draft bill of the Safe Blood Transfusion Act 2016 would be completed next month. After that it would be presented in the assembly session for approval.

The event was held on the World Hepatitis Day.

Mr Khwaja further said the Safe Blood Transfusion Act would play a pivotal role in hepatitis control as substandard bloodbanks would not be allowed to operate.

PKLI chairman Prof Dr Saeed Akhtar, Prof Ghiasun Nabi Tayyab, Akhuwat Foundation chairman Dr Amjad Saqib, representatives of the PMA and family physiclans, clinicians from abroad and senior journalists attended the seminar.

Salman Rafiq said the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant and Research Institute was the first institution of its nature where prevention, treatment as well as research would be conducted on these diseases besides facility of kidney and liver transplant.

He said the construction of the project had already been started on a 50-acre area on Bedian Road which was provided by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. He said Rs15 billion would be spent on the project and during the current nscal year, the government had allocated Rs4 billion.

Prof Saeed Akhtar said the PKLI would start hepatitis clinic at the facility by December 2016 which would help prepare a data bank ofhepatitis patients to make future planning. He said vigorous awareness campaign would be launched for prevention of this menace.

Dr Amjad Saqib said people were standing on the edge of volcano. He reiterated that one million members of the Foundation would be activated to create awareness about hepatitis.

Medical experts said hepatitis B and C were very common in Pakistan and excessive use of medicines, injections, use of non-sterilised medical equipment, polluted instruments of dentists, barbers and transfusion of unscreened blood are its major causes.