HYDERABAD: Dilution of blood with saline might not be the only violation being carried out at the Venus Hospital Blood Bank. The Red Blood Cell (RBC) units sold by the blood bank to a patient admitted at Aware Gleneagles Global Hospital was reportedly broken (Haemolysed) which deems it unfit for transfusion.
This will be one of the lines of investigation to be taken up by drug inspectors from TS Drug Control Administration (DCA).After the issue of blood dilation came to light on Friday, Rachakonda’s Special Operations Team police conducted checks and arrested a doctor, blood bank manager and a lab technician, who confessed that he diluted the blood. Investigation into the case is underway.
“Aware Gleneagles Global Hospital doctors said that the blood was Haemolysed. Samples of blood will be sent for tests and after receiving the reports, we will get to know the situation,” an official from DCA said. It is also learnt that when the special drive was conducted at Blood Banks between August and September in 2016, licence of Venus Hospital Blood Bank was temporarily suspended because of certain violations.
DCA officials are trying to figure out how blood was taken from one blood bag and transferred to another. “There is always a chance for contamination if a hole is made in a bag to take blood out of it. We are trying to find out how was it done,” a DCA official said.
Such transfusions can be life threatening: Doctors
The issue of blood solution has made people anxious about the safety of patients. Let’s see how adverse does it get if blood diluted with saline is transfused to a patient? Doctors say it depends on the health issue of a patient. Reactions could range from rashes to life threatening situations, they add.
“Normally, when saline is mixed with Red Blood Cells (RBC), there are chances of haemolysis of RBCs. When haemolysed RBCs are transfused, a patient may develop fevers, chills, Tachycardia,” said Dr Sukesh Kumar, consultant Microbiologist and head of Blood Bank at Aware Gleneagles Global Hospitals.
Chief operating officer of the hospital, Dr Sharath Chandran, says if haemolysed blood, where RBCs are broken, is transfused to a patient, there could be anaphylactic reactions which can range from minor rashes to life threatening situations.
Blood banks don’t rule out an inside job
Meanwhile, representatives of blood banks in Hyderabad said if someone is diluting the blood, they must be having complete knowledge of how system works as every unit of blood packet is given a unique identification number. “If someone is mixing saline to make two units of blood out of one, they must be knowing how blood banks work. Novices cannot do this,” said a staff of a city blood bank. “According to rules, blood banks are not supposed to sell blood. One unit of blood, depending on components, costs anywhere between J800- J1,500. The prices are pre-determined according to National Blood Policy. After blood is collected, it is checked for safety, stored at particular temperatures, if permitted, blood components are separated,” said T Vishnu Vardhan, chief executive officer, NTR Trust Blood Banks.