BENGALURU: For the first time, Food Safety and Drug Administration department (FDA) launched a drive earlier this week to inspect blood banks across the state to see lapses, if any, in storage methods and to verify compliance with mandatory testing protocols.
Nearly 80 blood banks have been inspected so far as part of FDA’s drive.
The Food Safety Department, which has been merged with the Drug Administration, launched this drive as blood and its components are legally classified as ‘drugs’.
This classification, officials said, allows the department to regulate and ensure the safety of blood products through the same stringent standards applied to pharmaceuticals. By doing so, the department aims at strengthening the safety protocols related to blood donation, storage and transfusion, ensuring that all blood products meet the required quality standards and pose no risk to public health, they added.
If blood bank facilities are not monitored, it may lead to violations, including improper storage conditions such as blood being kept at incorrect temperatures, which can cause contamination or spoilage. Another major risk is inadequate screening of blood for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, or syphilis, leading to potential transmission of these infections through transfusions.
Additionally, violations can occur while labelling and tracking blood donations, which could result in mix-ups or administering wrong blood groups to patients, the officials said.
A senior official told TNIE that the aim is to ensure rigorous hygiene and cleanliness standards in collection, storage and distribution of blood and its components. The department will focus on ensuring that blood is drawn from qualified professionals under sanitary conditions to minimise any risk to public health. In line with statutory requirements, all blood samples will undergo compulsory testing to ensure they are safe for transfusion.
The official highlighted the importance of maintaining accurate records and ensuring consistency between online data and physical stock. “The drive involves cross-checking records of blood donations, tallying figures from blood banks, and verifying that they match with the data in the online system,” the official said.
He said efforts are on to ensure that blood donated at government-supported camps is provided to those in need of it.