IHHN’s Dr. Shabneez Hussain and Rabia Majeed Achieve Milestone AABB Assessor Status

Indus Hospital & Health Network celebrates a significant milestone in transfusion medicine as two of its professionals have achieved Team Member status in the AABB Assessor Program.

Dr. Shabneez Hussain, Head of Blood Transfusion Services at IHHN, has achieved Team Member status in the AABB Assessor Program, making her the first physician assessor from a Pakistani institution to reach this level. Joining her in this national milestone is Rabia Majeed, who has also successfully completed her trainee assessment to achieve the status of Approved Team Member within the program.

AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies) is an international not-for-profit organization that sets standards for blood banking, transfusion medicine, and cellular therapies. Its accreditation is recognized worldwide as a mark of quality and patient safety. AABB assessors are experienced professionals who evaluate blood banks and transfusion services against these standards through rigorous on-site assessments. Achieving Approved Team Member status marks the successful completion of training and the transition to a full member of international assessment teams.

What this means for Pakistan

The achievement brings international expertise in blood safety standards directly into the country. Pakistan’s transfusion services have historically had limited access to globally benchmarked quality frameworks. Having an assessor from a Pakistani institution within the AABB program builds local capacity to understand, implement and sustain those standards.

The IHHN Karachi Blood Center is AABB-accredited, the achievement strengthens the commitment to providing safe blood, free of cost, to every patient it serves. It also positions IHHN to guide other blood banks across Pakistan on their journey toward international accreditation, so that more patients nationwide benefit from safer transfusion practices.

Reflecting on the achievement, Dr. Shabneez Hussain said, “Being part of the AABB Assessor Program lets me bring global standards home and help build a culture of quality in transfusion medicine across Pakistan.”

The milestone reflects IHHN’s broader mission of bringing free-of-cost healthcare of global standards to the people of Pakistan.