Hamza Foundation runs several Awareness Program like prevention and cure of HIV/Aids & HCV , Causes of Thalassemia and Blood Cancer etc.
Blood Cancer:
Hamza Foundation Welfare Hospital provides the platelets to the patients of blood cancer treatment specialized hospital(s) free of any charges.
Blood Transfusions:
At Hamza Foundation Welfare Hospital, we collect blood from blood donors through blood camps and others. Some of these units (“whole blood”) were transfused directly into patients (e.g., to replace blood lost by trauma or during surgery). Most were further fractionated into components, including:
RBCs. When refrigerated these can be used for up to 42 days.
Platelets. These must be stored at room temperature and thus can be saved for only 5 days.
Plasma. This can be frozen and stored for up to a year.
Ensuring the safety of donated blood:
A variety of infectious agents can be present in blood.
Viruses (e.g., HIV-1, hepatitis B and C, HTLV, West Nile virus
Bacteria like the spirochete of syphilis
Protozoans like the agents of malaria and babesiosis and could be transmitted to recipients. To minimize these risks, Donors are questioned about their possible exposure to these agents;
Each unit of blood is tested for a variety of infectious agents.
HIV-1
Hepatitis C
West Nile virusssemia is a genetic blood disorder in which a patient cannot make enough Red Blood Cells and needs to be supplemented with RBC transfusions every 2-3 weeks to stay healthy and to survive.
Thalassaemia is an inherited disorder that leads to the decreased production and increased destruction of red blood cells. This causes very low levels of hemoglobin or none at all.
Hemoglobin is the red pigment in red blood cells that carries oxygen through the body to all of the organ systems. The loss of red blood cells leads to anemia and the inability of the body to deliver needed oxygen to maintain normal body function. Thalassemias are also categorized by the number of genes that are defective: Thalassemia minor–one abnormal gene (only one Parent) Thalassemia major–two abnormal genes (both Parents) Causes: An imbalance in the alpha and beta globin chains necessary for the production of hemoglobin is caused by the inheritance of abnormal genes. Abnormal genes must be inherited from both parents to develop the disease. If one gene is inherited, the person will be a carrier of the disease, but will not have symptoms. People with thalassemia trait carry thalassemia, but they are not ill. They are healthy and normal, however, some may have slight anemia. Thalassemia trait is present at birth, it remains the same for life, and it can be handed down from parents to children. People with thalassemia trait also have slightly more hemoglobin called hemoglobin A2 in their blood.
