Vadodara: Soon, lounge-like transfusion centres for thalassemia patients

Vadodara: A recliner in a cubicle replete with a personal television may remind one of the business lounges at the airports. But the facility coming up in Alkapuri has a more noble intention in its design — it aims to alleviate the boredom for thalassemia patients at blood transfusion centres.

Lounging on the recliner, watching their favourite TV shows or movies, thalassemia patients can now go through the mundane process of taking blood, every fortnight or as required, sans the usual monotony.

Inspired by a blood transfusion centre in Dubai, a city-based NGO – The Wishing Factory (TWF) – is bringing up its own transfusion centre on similar lines. While, TWF will run the centre, the funding for it will be provided by Heubach Colour Pvt Ltd. The founder of Sujay Urological Hospital Dr Ajay Bhandarkar has donated one floor to TWF for the centre.

“Architects call these bed-less rooms, interactive spaces, where recliners and individual televisions are fitted to help patients watch their favourite shows or films on over-the-top platforms,” explained Partth Thakur, founder and chairperson of TWF.

He further said that the TWF’s centre will, however, have beds for out-station patients. “We want this process to be made beautiful because the procedure at government-run hospitals is tedious and tiresome,” said Thakur, who is also a thalassemia major.

One session of blood transfusion continues from three to seven hours and because of the atmosphere at government hospitals, patients delay the process until their haemoglobin drops to a critical level. “Patients have to get the blood themselves if the transfusion has to be taken at a government hospital, but at our centre we will get the blood ourselves and the patient just has to come empty-handed and get the process done,” Thakur said.

Other trustees of the NGO said that besides Vadodara, patients from Dahod, Panchmahal and other parts of central Gujarat will also benefit from the centre.