CUTTACK: Diagnosis and detection of blood disorders has taken a quantum jump in the State with the Clinical Haematology wing of the SCB Medical College and Hospital acquiring a state-of-the-art laboratory to conduct complicated tests.
The advanced facility is equipped with a fully automated capillary zone electrophoresis machine, fully automated five part cell counter and a fully automated coagulometer besides other instruments. It is all set to acquire a flow cytometer to carry out advanced tests for detection of critical blood diseases like cancer. It would be installed by the end of November.
The haematological laboratory billed to be the only of its kind facility in the State and able to conduct all kinds of examinations is being set up at an investment of Rs 1 crore by the State Health Department.
Head of Clinical Haematology Dr RK Jena said the facility would speed up tests and save people from the problems of having to send the samples outside the State for accurate diagnosis of complicated ailments.
The electropherosis machine would enable testing of thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, multiple myloma and other types of blood cancer with accuracy of almost 100 percent. Presently, samples were sent outside or done manually which had high error possibilities. The cell counter would undertake blood cell examination while coagulometer would detect bleeding disorders like haemophilia. The soon-to-be-installed flow cytometer would be used to diagnose blood cancers.
Blood diseases like sickle cell anemia, thalassemia are highly prevalent in Orissa while more than 70 percent of the population is estimated to be suffering from anemia. Besides, cancers of the blood are also on an alarming rise.
According to Dr Jena, the costs of the sophisticated tests would come down drastically. Sickle cell anemia, thalassemia tests would be done at around Rs 250 against Rs 1000 now. Â