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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, April 14: A gynaecologist from Surendranagar needs six units of blood for a patient who urgently needs to undergo surgery. He is looking for a licenced blood bank and finds that there is none.
These are some of the fall-outs of a strict code for licensing blood banks. Following the Supreme Court (SC) order last year which set stringent standards for blood banks, it has become difficult for many blood banks to carry on operations.
In fact, some 25 blood banks across the State have closed down since the health authorities tightened the bolt on them to follow the norms, says Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA)Commissioner SP Adesara.
No doubt, stricter norms are beneficial for the patients — they get good and reliable blood especially when the threat of HIV is looming large. Says Adesara, “The operation of blood banks has improved and their reliability has also gone up.” But has it put on hold buying blood from professional donors — a main source of getting HIV?
“No”, says a source associated with blood banks. “The number of licenced blood banks has gone down. But the demand for blood remains the same. So obviously blood comes at a cost and from professional blood donors,” the source revealed.
In small towns with no licenced blood banks, the local doctors are ready to give blood to patients, provided the entire procedure takes place unofficially. “With such strict norms, the blood banks in rural areas will not even bother to apply for licence. Since blood is needed only for emergencies, donation and transfusion will take place at random without screening for Hepatitis B or HIV,” says a seniordoctor of the New Civil Hospital.
Interestingly, most of the blood banks that have failed to take license are voluntary blood banks. A source in the Health Department pointed out that even a major Government hospital in the city does not have a licence to run its blood bank. “The voluntary or trust-run blood banks are most affected by the new guidelines and may even think of closing down in the coming days,” says a doctor.
The conditions laid down for getting a license includes an area of not less than 1,200-square feet and seven rooms of not less than 10×10 sq ft. The seven rooms are for medical examination, blood collection, room for grouping and cross-matching, room for ELISA tests and one for reception of blood-donors. Besides, many question the quality of professionalism in private blood banks. The State has some 40 private blood banks. “Many of these private banks are run by laboratory technicians. These are not professionally-managed blood banks though they fulfill basic requirements.
Thisposes a risk to the patients,” said a Health Department official.Interestingly, many voluntary blood banks also encourage blood trade. When a patient is given blood, his relatives are asked to deposit some money on condition that it will be returned later. The patient’s relatives never come back and the deposit is also not returned.
So just setting up State Blood Transfusion Council will not be enough.
