No plans to allow private blood banks in Bahrain

Bahrain has no immediate plans to allow private hospitals to set up their own blood banks, an official has said. Last week, some private hospitals in Bahrain said they were seeking permission to run their own blood banks and help save the lives of critical patients. However, Fakhriya Ali, the head of Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) Blood Bank, said that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries favoured a policy to centralise the facility. "This is mainly to stop the noble act being converted into business because when private sector intervenes, it becomes more of a business," Fakhriya told Daily Tribune. "The World Health Organisation (WHO) has policies laid down for countries to ensure blood donation takes place as per certain norms and standards." Article continues below According to the official, the SMC Blood Bank was well equipped with sufficient storage facilities to support the need in the country "We have an average of 40-50 people coming forward to donate blood every day, which is almost sufficient," she said. Though they said they respected the policy, some private hospital doctors suggested that a strategic plan could be drawn up for long-term benefits and expressed the need for more blood banks based on ground realities. "Most of the hospitals do not charge additional money for the blood apart from service charges," they said, refuting blood donation commercialisation claims. However, other doctors said that establishing blood banks in private hospitals might lead to more expenses for patients. They expressed concern that setting up a blood bank in each private hospital might not be practical, financially, as well as in terms of quality assurance.