The department of transfusion medicine (BTD) Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune is organizing a national workshop on `Hands-on stem cell harvesting and blood component manufacture' on 5-7 Dec. 2003. A large number of local, and outstation delegates will attend the workshop.

Talking to Pharmabiz, Col. M Jaiprakash, prof., "The facilities for live video telecast of the proceedings will also be provided. Distinguished national and international speakers will be delivering lectures on current topics in transfusion medicine practice.''

Commenting on the transfusion medicine, she said, ever since the scourge of HIV-AIDS in the 80's and the important role played by clinical blood transfusion in its spread was understood, the role of transfusion medicine has come under increasing scrutiny and government regulation. "In fact the national blood policy lays great stress on the provisioning of adequate, safe blood through the avenues of 100 per cent voluntary blood donation, the increasing use of blood components, rigorous screening of blood products before transfusion and licensing of all blood transfusion related agencies or outlets,'' she pointed out.

She further added that blood component usage is a much more scientific approach in modern transfusion medicine in clinical practice and it is unscientific and inappropriate to use whole blood, as the patient may not require unnecessary components of blood. She also said the components prepared from a unit of whole blood viz. plasma products have a shelf life of one year and can thus be used for longer periods than whole blood (35-42 days).

At AFMC, there is a licensed, blood component separation facility since the last 12 years with facilities to provide different components like packed and semi-packed red cell concentrates, washed red cells, random and single donor platelet concentrates, fresh frozen plasma, cryoprecipitate, cryo-supernatant plasma and autologous or allogeneic haematopoietic stem cells.