Govt hospitals must be given surplus blood on priority: SBTC

Blood centres must provide surplus blood free of cost to government hospitals. Representation pic

The State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) has issued new guidelines on the bulk/surplus transfer of blood units to other states. As per SBTC's circular, blood centres must give priority to government hospitals and then to other states, after obtaining a no-objection certificate from officials. The circular comes in the wake of the SBTC learning that bulk/surplus blood was being transferred to other states, that too at a high cost.

According to the SBTC, there have been reports about centres not maintaining the required temperature while transferring surplus blood and blood components from one centre to another. It has also come to light that excess processing charges are being made out for when a centre in one state transfers blood and blood components in bulk to a centre in another state. These issues were discussed in the 49th governing board meeting of the SBTC. The guidelines state that blood centres should collect the vital liquid as per their requirements based on the average of the past three months' consumption and avoid excess collection to avoid wastage.

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The circular read, "A licensed blood centre should first enquire about the need for blood in the district government hospital blood centre. The former should supply surplus blood to the latter free of cost as government district hospitals are providing blood free of cost to patients. If blood is not required by the district government hospital blood centre, a letter from the district civil surgeon/dean of government medical colleges and hospitals giving no objection to bulk transfer either within the state to other private blood centres or interstate transfer to other blood centres would be required."

After obtaining the NOC, the blood centres may transfer the blood "under intimation to NBTC/SBTC, as the case may be, subject to the condition that the report about details of the processing charges taken from the recipient blood centre should be informed to the SBTC". The circular added, "The recipient blood centres should certify that the blood and blood components have been received at the recommended temperature as per the prescribed storage conditions in usable condition and a certificate from the recipient centre should be submitted to the SBTC and divisional FDA concerned. The supplier blood centre shall be responsible for all complications except for those related to compatibility testing."