PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - Bandung Mayor Muhammad Farhan inaugurated the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and Whole Blood Automation System (WBA) facilities at the UDD/UPD Screening and Production Laboratory of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) in Bandung City on Monday (May 4, 2026). This facility is the first of its kind in Indonesia and the third in Southeast Asia.

Farhan expressed his appreciation for the presence of cutting-edge technology, which marks a step forward in the digitalization of healthcare services in the city of Bandung.

"Thank God, today we inaugurated the newest facility at the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) in Bandung City. This is a form of digitalization of blood donation management to ensure it is truly efficient and optimal using the latest technology," he said.

According to Farhan, the introduction of the GLP and WBA systems is a significant milestone, as it's the first time these advanced facilities have been available in Indonesia. He attributes this success to collaboration between the Bandung City PMI, the West Java PMI, and the Central PMI, along with support from the private sector.

"This is a first of its kind in Indonesia. I truly appreciate the hard work of the Bandung City PMI, supported by the West Java PMI and the Central PMI, enabling them to collaborate with the private sector to provide the best possible service," he said.

Farhan explained that the main advantage of this system lies in the much more efficient automation of the blood processing process. This technology allows donor blood to be processed into various components such as packed red blood cells (PRCs), plasma, platelets, and leukocytes in a much shorter time.

In addition, a digitized recording system reduces the risk of manual errors, including the potential for data or blood sample mix-ups.

"With this system, manual recording is no longer required, eliminating the risk of mix-ups. This makes the process more accurate and efficient," he added.

In terms of capacity, this facility can handle over 1,000 blood donation samples per day. This is expected to increase blood availability and expedite service delivery to the public.

Farhan also encouraged Bandung residents to actively donate blood to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI). He explained that in addition to helping others, donating blood now offers the added benefit of health screening.

"With this device, the public can also receive health screenings through blood tests. This will encourage healthy lifestyles in Bandung," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Bandung City PMI, Ade Koesjanto, in his report revealed that blood services are part of humanitarian efforts as mandated in Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning Health.

"PMI is responsible for providing safe, high-quality, and healthy blood. The inauguration of the GLP and Whole Blood Automation System demonstrates our commitment to continuously improving our services," he explained.

According to Ade, the implementation of the GLP system is the implementation of cutting-edge technology which is expected to become a new standard for blood donor units in Indonesia.

"God willing, PMI DKI and PMI Surabaya will soon follow, followed by other UDDs throughout Indonesia," he said.

Ade also expressed his appreciation to the private partners, PT Abbott and PT Istama Ranoraya, for their collaboration in procuring and developing the facility. (Bandung City Communications and Information Service/rka)