Professor Dr. Farhana Islam Neela

Prof. Dr. Farhana Islam Neela is a Transfusion Medicine and Medicine Specialist with MBBS from Dhaka Medical College and MD in Transfusion Medicine. She serves as Professor and Head of the Department of Blood Transfusion at the National Institute of Cancer Research & Hospital (NICRH), Dhaka. Her work is closely linked with blood collection, testing and transfusion services for patients who need blood or blood components. At a cancer hospital, this can involve patients receiving chemotherapy, surgery or other treatments where blood support may be needed. Her department also deals with component therapy, where blood is separated into parts such as red cells, platelets and plasma. Different patients need different components.

Prof. Dr. Farhana Islam Neela is also involved in the development of transfusion services at the institutional level. Her area of work includes blood donor programs and plans involving refrigerated centrifuges and apheresis equipment. Apheresis can be used to collect particular blood components from a donor rather than taking whole blood. Her department has also been connected with plans for bone marrow transplant services, automated blood grouping and blood irradiation. These are fairly specialized areas of hospital medicine. Alongside the clinical work, she teaches medical professionals and guides medical officers and laboratory technologists. Much of this work happens behind the scenes. Blood bags, testing, machines, records. Not flashy work. But it has to be done properly.