AMN /
In a major modification to the National Blood Policy, blood banks will now be able to borrow units from one another in case of a shortage. The Union Health Ministry has taken this decision as part of reforms to the handling of blood units in the country.
A shortage of blood units has been a recurring problem since the Supreme Court, on January 1, 1998, banned paid donation.
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has identified two major initiatives towards better utilisation of blood and blood components, as part of its commitment to ensure safe blood and enhanced access to blood products, on the recommendation of the National Blood Transfusion Council. The first step is permitting the transfer of blood from one blood bank to another. This was not allowed earlier and will help in transfer of blood to places of scarcity. Detailed guidelines for proper and efficient transport of blood between banks have been prescribed.
The second step is fixing of an exchange value for surplus plasma available at some blood banks in the country. In the absence of the enabling provision, surplus plasma was traded or sold by the blood banks without any regulation whatsoever. Now an exchange value of Rs.1600/- per litre of plasma has been fixed and the blood banks with surplus plasma can exchange it for consumables, equipments etc. or plasma derived products, as per their need. This exchange, however, cannot be in terms of cash. This step is expected to increase the availability of essential life saving medicines like human albumin, immunoglobulins, clotting factors, etc. which are all derived from plasma. This step would also reduce the country’s dependence on import of these products.
According to the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), India has 2,760 licensed blood banks.
A 2012 World Health Organisation (WHO) report said nine million of 12 million blood units needed annually in India were collected through voluntary donation.
When the Supreme Court banned paid donation, the government was mandated, under the National Blood Policy (2002), to phase out replacement donation in five years.
However, since few people donate blood regularly, hospitals ask family members of patients to donate blood so as to pre-emptively replace the blood withdrawn from the blood bank.
The National and State Blood Transfusion Councils were established in the 1990s to promote voluntary donations.
On the recommendation of the National Blood Transfusion Council, the Ministry has identified two major initiatives towards better utilisation of blood and blood components, as part of its commitment to ensure safe blood and enhanced access to blood products.
The ministry has fixed the exchange value of plasma per litre at 1600 rupees and the blood banks with surplus plasma can exchange it for consumables, equipments or plasma derived products, as per their need.
Health Ministry said, this step is expected to increase the availability of essential life saving medicines like human albumin, immunoglobulins and clotting factors which are all derived from plasma.
This step would also reduce the country’s dependence on import of these products.