India TV: New Delhi: Monday,
April 24, 2017.
In an alarming revelation through an RTI query,
which exposes serious loopholes in the nation’s blood banking system, it has
been found that in the last five years, over 28 lakh units of blood and its
components were discarded by banks across India.
The cumulative wastage of 6 per cent translates to
over 6 lakh litres a volume enough to fill up 53 water tankers, says a Times
of India report.
India, on an average, faces a shortfall of 3
million units of blood annually. This scarcity of blood, plasma or platelets
leads to several cases of maternal mortality and deaths in cases of accidents.
In reply to the RTI query filed by petitioner
Chetan Kothari, the data provided by the National Aids Control Organisation
(NACO), it was found that Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
were the top four states which discarded not just the whole blood but even red
blood cells and plasma as they could not be used before their expiry date.
In 2016-17 alone, over 6.57 lakh units of blood
and its products were discarded.
The alarming part is that 50 per cent of the
wasted units were of plasma, which has a life of one year, much longer than the
35-days deadline in case of blood and RBCs.
Maharashtra, which is the only state to have
crossed the one-million mark vis-a-vis collection of blood units, also
accounted for the maximum wastage of whole blood, followed by West Bengal and
Andhra Pradesh.
In terms of wasting the RBCs, Maharashtra, UP and
Karnataka stood at the top three positions. UP and Karnataka also wasted the
maximum units of fresh frozen plasma.
It was also found that over 3 lakh units of fresh
frozen plasma were discarded in 2016-17, which is surprising as the product is
imported by several pharma companies to produce albumin.
According to the report, supporters of safe blood
blamed the crisis on the absence of a robust blood sharing network between
banks and hospitals. Donation camps involving thousands of participants have
also come under fire, with many blaming local politicians for using them as a
tool to please constituents.
Dr Zarine
Bharucha of the Indian Red Cross Society pointed out that a collection of up to
500 units was acceptable and manageable.
“But we have
seen and heard of camps where 1,000 to 3,000 units are collected... Where is
the place to store so much blood?" she added, "Why can't people walk
into regular banks and donate once every three months?” Dr Zarine was quoted by
Times of India as saying.