Health ministry flags gaps in blood services as 10 per cent districts lack centres

A national review of India's blood transfusion services exposed stark disparities on April 22, with about 10 per cent of districts still without a blood centre, hindering timely access to safe blood for patients.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare held a video conference with representatives from all 36 states and union territories, chaired by Rakesh Gupta, additional secretary for public health and director general of the National AIDS Control Organisation. The meeting scrutinised performance across five key stages—licensing, donor screening and collection, testing for transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs), processing and storage, and record-keeping—using 10 key performance indicators drawn from eRaktKosh, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Blood Bank Management System, and inspection data.

Strong showings emerged in voluntary donations, testing accuracy via external quality schemes, and TTI referral systems in several regions. Yet challenges persist: uneven district-level infrastructure, licensing lapses, low voluntary donation rates, limited component separation, and patchy digital reporting. Many centres remain unlinked to eRaktKosh and the Blood Bank Management System, obscuring real-time oversight.

Gupta stressed the national blood policy's aim of zero TTIs and a blood centre in every district by December 2026. He called for urgent fixes, including full licensing compliance, standardised donation camp protocols, expanded voluntary drives, advanced testing like 4th-generation ELISA, and 100% digital integration with biometric donor IDs via ABDM and Health Facility Registry.

States must also bolster TTI referrals to care programmes. A joint action plan by the National Blood Transfusion Council, state councils, CDSCO, drug regulators, and Indian Red Cross will track monthly and quarterly progress.

The ministry pledged close collaboration to deliver a reliable blood supply network for all citizens.