NEW DELHI: Hospitals and blood banks can only charge processing fees for blood as the government has now decided to do away with all other fees to check the practice of overcharging. In a communication to all states and UT drugs controllers cum licensing authorities, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) said that the decision was taken in view of the opinion that “blood is not for sale”.
Referring to the 62nd meeting of the Drugs Consultative Committee held on September 26, 2023, the DCGI in the letter on December 26 said, “It was recommended with respect of agenda No. 18 of ATR point 3, for overcharging of blood, it was opined that blood is not for sale, it is only for supply and only processing cost may be charged by the blood centre.”
The revised guidelines now stipulate that only processing fees can be charged for blood or blood components, which ranges from Rs 250 to Rs 1,550 for blood or blood components. The DCGI has asked states and UT drug controllers to direct all blood centres under their jurisdiction to adhere to the revised guidelines. Per unit of blood in case of no blood donation is priced between Rs 3,000 to Rs 8,000 by private hospitals, officials said.
In cases of blood shortage or rare blood groups, the charges may go up higher. For blood donation, the age of the donor must be above 18 years and below 65 years. He/she must have a haemoglobin count that is not less than 12.5 g/dl. The Weigh should not less than 45 kgs. One should have a normal body temperature at the time of donation.
A study in 2022 extrapolated the eligible donor population in India at 402 million. The supply was estimated at 33.8 donations against the demand of 36.3 per thousand donations, translating to a shortage of one million units annually. Medical specialty had the highest demand for blood at 6.0 million units (41.2%), followed by surgery 4.1 million (27.9%), obstetrics and gynecology 3.3 million (22.4%) and pediatrics 1.2 million (8.5%).
The government in 2002 published the National Blood Policy to reiterate the commitment to safe blood and blood components. It documents the strategies for making available adequate resources, technology, and training for improving transfusion services apart from outlining methods for donor motivation and appropriate clinical use of blood by clinicians.
Revised guidelines for blood donation
The revised guidelines now stipulate that only processing fees can be charged for blood or blood components, which ranges from `250 to `1,550 for blood or blood components. The DCGI has asked states and UT drug controllers to direct all blood centres under their jurisdiction to adhere to the revised guidelines.