Hyderabad: The Drugs Control Administration (DCA) conducted surprise inspections on nine blood banks in Hyderabad on February 21 and 22 to examine several facets of the blood centers’ operations and ensure adherence to legal requirements.
Special teams were sent in to carry out extensive inspections following the direction of DCA director general VB Kamalasan Reddy. The teams’ main focus was on testing donated blood for infections like HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and others.
The inspections also evaluated the fees blood banks charge for various blood components and checked compliance with government regulations on processing fees published in June 2022.
The inspected blood banks include Sri Balaji Blood Centre, Navjeevan Blood Centre, AVS Blood Centre, Rudhira Voluntary Blood Centre, Prathima Sai Blood Centre, Thalassemia Rakshitha Voluntary Blood Bank, Vivekananda Blood Centre, Nandi Blood Centre, and MSN Blood Centre.
The officials highlighted that many issues were found with the functioning of the blood banks when the inspections were conducted. Reconciliations attesting to the purchase and utilisation of the required testing kits for blood screening were not available at several blood clinics, including AVS Blood Center and Vivekananda Blood Center.
In addition, it was discovered that certain blood banks were overcharging for blood and its constituent parts, which is against the law. For example, Sri Balaji Blood Centre and Nandi Blood Centre were charging much higher prices for fresh frozen plasma and platelet concentrate than the approved rates. Problems were observed with the calibration of the equipment, especially with maintaining the right temperature.
Inadequate personnel and record-keeping practices were also noted at some blood banks. Certain blood banks did not have medical officers or technical supervisors on staff, and some did not keep proper records of blood testing and screening.
The discovery of these irregularities prompeted the DCA to issuing show-cause notices to the establishments.
