Govt, Red Cross sign MOU to establish blood banks in AP

Hyderabad, May 24 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh Family Welfare Department and Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) today signed an MoU to establish 16 new blood banks and 89 blood storage centres in 108 Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (CEMONC) centres in the state.

The MoU was signed by Commissioner of Family Welfare C B S Venkata Ramana and IRCS Secretary K Rajyalakshmi in the presence of Governor Rameshwar Thakur and Finance and Health Minister K Rosaiah.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Thakur said 'it is essential that safe blood should be provided to ensure the health and well being of women and future generations'.

He said medical and para-medical personnel should be available round the clock to take care of the mother and child and achieve targets fixed under Reproductive and Child Health (RCH-two) project.

Mr Rosaiah said the government was making efforts to recruit doctors in villages and agency areas for providing better health care facilities in the state.

Expressing concern over doctors not being ready to go to villages to serve the poor despite the government recruiting them on a regular basis, he said the government had also taken steps to strengthen medical education by recruiting experts in medical studies.

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