



India cracks down on professional blood donor rackets with tougher new rules
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The government has framed stringent new regulations and raised the entry barrier for setting up new blood banks and centres to curb the culture of replacement donation and ‘professional donors’ who increase the risk of transfusion infections.
The rules restrict eligibility to registered voluntary and charitable organizations, barring family societies and trusts, and mandate social accountability evaluation, among other measures, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint. Both new and existing blood centres must adhere to rigorous operational and ethical benchmarks to secure and maintain their licences, including establishing their own component separation and storage facility within two years of receiving the permit. India requires 14.6 million units for blood transfusion annually.
The regulatory overhaul of India’s blood transfusion infrastructure aims to promote 100% voluntary donations without any payment and focuses on prioritizing public health over commercial interests. The majority of blood is needed for medicine (41.2%), surgery (27.9%) and obstetrics/gynaecology (22.4%) patients.
Type O-negative blood and AB-positive plasma are in high demand. The Union government earlier ordered an immediate nationwide audit of all 4,153 licensed blood banks and centres by the country’ top drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), following children being tested positive for HIV after blood transfusions in Satna (Madhya Pradesh), West Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Kamrup (Assam) due to breaches in screening protocols.
“Secure availability of blood to whoever needs it is an essential public health need. It is
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