Time and again, a blood donor has a question coming back to hsi/her mind. What happens to the blood I donate?. Is it used in the right manner?. Are things safe, is this blood bank a good one? Who rates them? How do i know that they follow the right practices?
Volunteers of Sankalp have been answering these questions from a long time. All blood donation drives conducted by Sankalp are only with blood banks that have a proven record for quality. They are sure to be following the minimum safety and storage norms as set by NACO (National Aids Control Organisation) and the Drug Controller. They are the better blood banks of Karnataka, some of them being the best in the country. Sankalp volunteers have a detailed discussion with the blood banks before inviting them for a blood donation drive. This is highly focussed towards using the right procedures with the safety of the donor in mind and giving blood donors a comfortable and memorable experience. Sankalp volunteers would have also visited each of these blood banks and have had a first hand experience on how the blood bank deals with the collected blood. So with the few we work, we can say that things are not too bad.
However, there is a flaw in the system. Every blood bank follows it's own set of safety and quality norms (after ofcourse a bare minimum as set by NACO).Quality in Blood Banks must somehow not just be left as optional to the blood banks. Every blood bank must be given highly stringent methods to follow and there must be a constant monitoring system with surprise raids and checks, timely verification and harsh punishments for blood banks who flout norms. Only then will qulaity consciously become a part of the process and aid in making things better. Somewhere with our experience as a full fledged Karnataka wide organisation for blood, we @ Sankalp feel that there is practically no stern entity with the stick in the hand to administer and force quality. Theoretically maybe there are boides and people. Sadly at the ground level, it's hard to find even a few. Perhaps quality oriented blood banking too is somehwere stuck in the umpteen number of files and memos of the babus!. Is there a way out?
With these thoughts in mind, as we look for answers, a story in the Times Of India catches the eye. Maybe there is a glimmer of hope. Now, an attempt to regulate blood banks and ensure that safe blood is provided to people, has been made by the Quality Council of India. It has appointed a five-member committee to rate blood banks across the country. The initiative is an attempt to bring down incidence of infections such as HIV and hepatitis. All blood banks are licensed and monitored by state drug control directorates. The committee for accreditation of blood banks will be chaired by Dr Bharat Singh of GTB hospital, Delhi. He and four other members will inspect and recommend accreditation for blood banks. They will function under the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals. The accreditation is given only if the blood banks ensure that the blood volume is right, there is no mixing of blood cells after components like platelets, white blood cells and red cells are isolated. The committee will also ensure that the bank follows stringent measures to rule out infections.
The committee, which has a two-year tenure, will monitor the quality of blood dispensed from the accredited blood banks. They will also recommend policy changes to the QCI board. The other members of this board include Dr R C Khurana of the Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi, Dr Sukesh Nair of Christian Medical College in Vellore and Dr BK Rana, deputy director of the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals. Hopefully this team will weave a magic wand and crack down on the business and money oriented institutions of blood to ensure a clean system with an eye towards creating a quality conscious blood banking ecosystem.
Reference: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/five/member-panel-to-ra…