West Bengal's State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) has told private hospitals to become self-reliant, ending the practice of sending patients' relatives to other hospitals or blood banks even when the hospital has its own. Hospitals are to collect and store blood as needed and hold regular donation camps, the Kolkata daily Ei Samay reported.
According to health department sources, most large private hospitals in the city have blood banks but do little collecting of their own, so they lean on other centres when blood is needed. A notice issued on Wednesday asks for closer coordination between clinical departments and blood banks, and for watch to be kept on how much of each blood group is needed and in stock.
The council has asked hospitals to organise donation camps, expand blood bank capacity and train staff, and has promised technical help.
While welcoming the order, some blood donation activists fear it will raise costs, since blood from a private hospital's own bank costs families much more than from an outside blood bank. Activist Achintya Laha said meeting the patient's need, whichever hospital they are in, should come first. Another activist, Dipankar Dutta, called for linking hospital collection with a wider blood network.
In August, government blood centres were told they may not send patients or relatives elsewhere when blood is short, but must arrange it themselves through nearby centres. In July and August, 11 private blood banks were investigated over allegations of rule-breaking at camps, collecting over the limit and sending blood components to other states.
The report is by Ei Samay's Anirban Ghosh and Debarghya Bhattacharya.
Source: Ei Samay
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