Even as Bihar is witnessing a spike in dengue cases, the platelet apheresis machine at Darbhanga hospital which was bought about two years ago, is lying defunct.
The apheresis machine has been gathering dust for almost 20 months at the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), in absence of compliance to the objections raised by the Central drug control authorities, state health officials said.
Platelet apheresis, done through this machine is a process to separate blood into different components — platelets, red blood cells and plasma. The machine is in high demand amid a spike in dengue cases in the state.
Bihar has recorded 10,299 dengue cases and 10 deaths so far this year. Of these, Patna accounted for the highest 7,924 dengue cases and seven deaths till Thursday. Nalanda and Munger reported one death each. These were the highest dengue cases and deaths the state had reported since 2017. A total of 143 dengue patients, some requiring platelets, were hospitalised in the state on Thursday.
The licence for platelet apheresis machines at the DMCH and PMCH has been held up due to lack of qualification/ training of personnel or civil work, said people familiar with the development.
The state health department purchased the equipment in February last year but is lacking doctors with requisite qualifications, having postgraduate degrees in pathology or complete training of doctors on apheresis machines.
“As per norms, apheresis machines are to be run under the supervision of a doctor having postgraduate degree in pathology. However, the two regular medical officers posted at the DMCH blood centre have neither an MD degree nor formal training on an apheresis machine. Both are medical officers with basic MBBS degrees,” said a health functionary.
Seeing that the expensive machine which can be used to treat patients is gathering dust at the hospital, the DMCH medical superintendent has recently deputed a qualified doctor from the clinical pathology department to the blood center. Moreover, two doctors are now awaiting training.
A team from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), east zone, from Kolkata, during its inspection of the DMCH blood centre in February this year pointed to the requirement of a concrete platform for the apheresis machine, besides hygiene issues, fitting of wall tiles, air conditioner, CCTV, replacing wooden doors with aluminium ones, etc.
“We have complied with most of the objections the Central team had pointed out and have internally arranged to depute a doctor having PG degree in pathology to the blood bank. Our situation will be better if the government posts at least two doctors with MD pathology degrees to our blood center,” said Dr Harishankar Mishra, DMCH medical superintendent.
At PMCH, the objections pertained primarily to civil work, which has now been complied with. A team from the CDSCO is scheduled to inspect the PMCH blood centre on November 7 after which the hospital was hopeful of getting the nod to run the apheresis machine.
The three functional platelet apheresis machines under state government facilities are at Patna’s Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, the model blood bank at Jaiprabha hospital at Kankerbagh locality and the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital (JLNMCH), Bhagalpur.
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