Dr. Saba Jamal’s innovative blood banking solution which is
known as “Panacea” is likely to provide an edge to Pakistan
in the modern international medical research competitions
Muhammad Umar Waqqas
KARACHI: Pakistan has been home to many remarkable medical professionals whose contributions have shaped national and global healthcare. Their dedication and pioneering services in various medical fields have left indelible marks on medical science and patient care. Karachi based Dr. Saba Jamal is one of such gems.
Dr. Saba Jamal, an alumna of Sindh Medical College, pursued advanced medical training in the United States, achieving triple board certifications in Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, and Hematology. After completing seven years of Postgraduate education from the USA and returning to Pakistan, she decided to encounter a fragmented blood banking system which largely depended on on-demand replacement family donors. She has been observing the plight of the patients caused by the unsafe blood banking practices. She presented her dedicated efforts to upgrade Pakistan’s blood banking operational framework by implementing the internationally recognized model of centralized blood banking-a vision deemed ambitious by many. The Indus Hospital & Health Network, with its commitment to providing quality care at no cost to patients, provided an ideal strategic platform for this initiative of Dr. Saba Jamal.
The challenge of delivering consistent quality across both urban and rural settings appeared daunting, particularly within the typical suboptimal human resource environment of Pakistan’s blood banking sector. Consequently, the adoption of an advanced electronic system became imperative. Dr. Saba felt this utmost need, she indulged with professional IT experts and shared her model of concept.
A deep and extensive search was conducted at different international IT solution forums which could collect the data and flow in softwares; however the searching could not produce the required results and available solutions on different international IT software forums did not adequately address the critical issue of minimizing “human errors.” This gap underscored the immediate need for indigenous development of locally tailored software.
Her aspiration was to create a digital system capable of reducing errors to nearly zero, which could ensure compliance with regulations even under high throughput conditions and could provide the safest possible blood to the population.
At the inception of the project, the bulk of funding was allocated to equipment, facilities, and human resources. Seeing the financial constraints of Indus Hospital, Dr. Saba Jamal made the pivotal decision to finance the development of specialized software from her personal funds. This step led to the establishment of the software house “Zaavia,” which comprised a dedicated team of like-minded individuals, including blood bankers, business analysts, critical analysts and software engineers & developers.
After years of collaborative and tireless efforts, a unique digital blood banking surveillance software system was successfully created which was perfectly capable of identifying and rectifying human errors in real-time, addressing data entry mistakes, memory lapses, and decision-related errors, alongside modifications in human behavior. This system can detect quality violations, halting user progression until the issue is resolved, thus can prevent errors in real-time.
Additionally, it alerts management via email, enhancing process control. This innovative blood banking solution, known as “Panacea,” encapsulates all relevant regulations, guiding team members to ensure compliance consistently. Importantly, it operates continuously without downtime. The “Panacea” has been successfully deployed at 22 sites of Indus Hospital & Health Network.
Subsequently, “Panacea” secured the international bid for phases 1 and 2 Pakistan’s “Safe Blood Transfusion Program,” funded by the KfW Development Bank (Germany). It has been operational at 20 sites nationwide. The team of “Zaavia” expanded its offerings, developing various healthcare and non-healthcare software solutions for 65 clients in Pakistan and 20 international clients. With international blood banking standards embedded within its framework, “Panacea” played a crucial role in enabling the Indus Hospital & Health Network Karachi Blood Center to achieve the distinction of being the First blood center in Pakistan and the entire SAARC region to receive AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies) accreditation, meeting American standards for blood safety protocol. Following its deployment,ten international sites also attained AABB accreditation. “Panacea” has been instrumental in effecting a paradigm shift in Pakistan’s blood banking system that delivers quality blood to the masses.
Undoubtedly, this effort of Dr. Saba Jamal deserves to be written in golden letters. Her tireless efforts, strong belief and unshakable leadership not only converted the typical blood banking system in Pakistan on modern lines but also brought honor to the name of Pakistan at the international level.
While talking to The Financial Daily, Dr. Saba Jamal says, “I am grateful to Almighty Allah who made this process possible and granted success to our efforts. I also pay tribute to the team of Zaavia and Indus Hospital who supported me in this journey with full dedication and hard work. We will continue to work for our country in the future as well.
