Shortage of blood adds to woes of patients - The Tribune

06 August, 2017

Relatives of patients admitted to Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital and sub-divisional hospitals in Bathinda are facing a tough time in arranging blood.

The government-run blood bank at the local Civil Hospital, which also provides blood units to five sub-centres — Talwandi Sabo, Goniana, Ghuda, Bhagta and Nathana blocks, is facing a shortage of blood units.

Police to hold weekly blood donation camps – The Times of India

29 July, 2017

To tide over the scarcity of blood, the Red Cross wing of the police has decided to organize voluntary blood donation camps once a week. At present, the twin city police hold such camps only four or five times a year.

Besides, the police will bear the treatment costs of 100 poor thalassaemia patients. "We will launch a special campaign to make Bhubaneswar a no-blood deficiency zone by mid-2018. We face a shortage of nearly 20,000 units of blood every year. The shortfall arises between March and July as college students, who form the bulk of voluntary blood donors, are unavailable due to closure of educational institutions," said commissioner Y B Khurania.

35 patients HCV+ due to blood transfusion – The Tribune

08 May, 2017

A serious lapse in the treatment of Thalassemia patients at the local civil hospital has surfaced, with as many as 35 patients undergoing treatment at the Thalassemia ward in the civil hospital, having been tested positive for Hepatitis C after their received blood transfusion from Hepatitis C infected blood. While majority of the patients’ parents weren’t even aware of their children getting Hepatitis C until today, it was during March 10 to 17 that the tests of these patients conducted from a local lab confirmed that they had tested positive for Hepatitis C.

Blood banks need better management – Deccan Herald

01 May, 2017

Recent data provided by the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) reveals that over 28 lakh units of blood have been discarded by hospitals and blood banks in India during the last five years because of poor storage and management practices. In a country like ours that faces acute blood shortage, this is a tragic waste. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), only nine million units are collected annually in India against the demand for 12 million units. There are 234 million major operations here, 63 million trauma-induced surgeries, 31 million cancer-related procedures and 10 million pregnancy-related complications which require blood transfusions. Disorders like sickle cell anaemia, thalassemia and haemophilia require repeated blood transfusions. Timely availability of safe blood is a question of life and death for road accident victims. The shortfall in supply has resulted in the mushrooming of the blood donation industry despite WHO guidelines and the Supreme Court ban. Most of these donors are from high risk groups.

Shocking! 2.8 million blood units wasted in India – News Nation India

24 April, 2017

Serious loopholes in India’s blood banking system have been exposed by a report which suggests that more than 6 lakh litres (2.8 million units) of blood has been wasted in last 5 years.

Shockingly, in a country where blood shortage is faced by many patients, the blood banks wasted around 6 per cent precious units of blood and its components. This amount of wasted blood equals 53 water tankers.

India's first biometric blood bank management system - Economic Times CIO

20 March, 2017

Strides leverages cloud computing to authenticate donors real-time

In India, 90% of blood donations are carried out in camps set up by various organizations. While all the donated blood goes through the testing phase and safe blood is separated, sometimes unsafe blood can also penetrate this test and reach the patients infecting them. Though this problem may go unnoticed but the consequences are fatal.

The biggest challenge, therefore, for setting up a blood repository is donor authentication, identification, and more importantly, donor filtration based on past eligibility records. This makes it important to have a centralized platform for blood donors.

Strides Software Solutions, a Aurangabad based startup has taken up the mission to enable the availability of safe and high quality blood components. The company has developed India's first Aadhaar-based centralized donor authentication and identification application.

Strides story showcased at Microsoft Future decoded 2017.

22 February, 2017

In India, where more than 90% of blood donations are carried out in camps set up by various organizations, it becomes the need of the hour to have a centralized platform for blood donors.

Immediate availability of safe blood can be a matter of life and death for patients in need. The biggest challenge in terms of setting up such a repository is donor authentication, identification, and more importantly, donor filtration based on past eligibility records.

Effective measures in filtering out ineligible donors can also reduce the risk of HIV transmission due to bad blood transfusion.

Microsoft eyes Indian Startups for cloud services.

20 February, 2017

Microsoft is targeting Indian startups with its cloud services, and has signed up more than 2,000 such customers in the country in the last 12 months, the company’s CEO Satya Nadella said Monday at an event for startups in Bangalore. A large opportunity ahead for the company is the large number of developers who are building their services around a biometric database, consisting of fingerprints and iris scans, which the country has created of over 1 billion of its people.

Under a new program for the digital exchange of information, called India Stack, the government is offering the biometric system, called Aadhaar, as an authentication mechanism for a variety of services offered by the private sector. Microsoft aims to provide the cloud infrastructure for many of the developers to rapidly build their services, Nadella said.

Strides Software Solutions, for example, is offering Aadhaar authentication for blood donation banks and is using Azure to scale to 65 banks in just six weeks, its founder Dinesh Mutha said. But Microsoft’s play in India may extend to also providing Aadhaar authentication in its products. “I would love for our services, whether it is Office 365 or Dynamics 365, anything that we are doing end user or Windows itself, to be great participants in the India Stack,” Nadella said. “I should be able to log in using Aadhaar. I should be able to use any of our applications using the identity system that every Indian uses.” He hosted on stage for a discussion the person originally in charge of the Aadhaar project, Nandan Nilekani.

Campaign for voluntary blood donation begins – The Tribune

20 February, 2017

To boost voluntary blood donation, Punjab State AIDS Control Society and State Blood Transfusion Council, Chandigarh, have sent a state-of-the-art mobile blood bus to the Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion (Blood Bank), Government Medical College, Patiala, for motivational campaign and organising voluntary blood donation camps.

Transfusions of old blood may be dangerous: study – IndiaToday

11 January, 2017

The oldest blood available for transfusions releases large and potentially harmful amounts of iron into patients bloodstreams, warns a new study which recommends reducing the maximum storage limit of red blood cells from six to five weeks.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Centre (CUMC) in the US randomly assigned a group of 60 healthy volunteers to receive a unit of red blood cells that had been stored for one, two, three, four, five or six weeks.

The volunteers were then monitored for 20 hours after transfusion. Within hours after transfusion, seven of the nine volunteers who received the six-week-old blood could not appropriately metabolize the damaged cells, thereby releasing large amounts of iron into their bloodstream. Only one volunteer who received younger blood had a similar response, with blood had been stored for five weeks.

Hospitals shy away from new blood test methods – The New Indian Express

26 November, 2016

BENGALURU: With technological advances, more safety procedures have been introduced in ensuring safe blood donation. A landmark decision adopted by the state government was to introduce nucleic acid testing (NAT). In 2011, it set up a NAT facility at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital here, where samples from all over the state are sent for testing.

The test can detect a virus in smaller window periods even before antibodies are detected by traditional serology screening methods. This prevents the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.

‘Hospital is liable for death due to wrong blood transfusion’ - Times of India

13 November, 2016

It is essential to have proper grouping and crossmatching of blood before going for blood transfusion. Failure to do so would tantamount to a clear case of medical negligence.

Case Study: Fifty five-year-old Madhuwala Chaudhary was admitted to Tata Memorial Hospital under Dr R C Mistry in the thoracic unit. She was examined and declared fit for transthorascopic total esophagectomy. Prior to her surgery her blood grouping was done and she was found to be B negative.

After the surgery Madhuwala was shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Between July 5 and July 12, 2005, she was transfused with 1400 ml. of B negative blood group. She was discharged on August 29, 2015 and proceeded to her native town in Jharkhand.

Unsafe blood transfusion infects around 30k annually: Dr Harish Warbhe - The Times of India

4th November, 2016

Nagpur: "It is estimated that in India, about 30,000 patients are annually infected due to unsafe blood transfusion. The viruses range from HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis-B or Hepatitis-C," said Harish Warbhe from Lifeline Blood Bank. Warbhe is also the convener of TransMeet-2016, an upcoming continuing medical education (CME) on Transfusion Medicine, organized by Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) in association with Indian Medical Association (IMA) at Hotel Radisson Blu on Sunday.

"The desired benefits of transfusion can be achieved only if Total Quality Management is followed from vein of Donor to vein of patient. We need to follow the highest quality standards in the entire transfusion chain which includes proper donor selection, blood collection, component separation, infection screening, issue, cold chain transport and final transfusion to patient. Any break in chain can lead to disaster," said AMS President Dr C S Cham while addressing media.

Voluntary blood donation hits a low in state: Report – The Times of India

4th October, 2016

GUWAHATI: The state cuts a sorry figure when it comes to voluntary blood donation. According to the Statistics Information Management System (SIMS) of the National Aids Control Organization (NACO), only 57% of the total blood donated in the state in 2015-16 was voluntary, as against 100% in Arunachal Pradesh and 97% in Tripura.

The study arrived at the figure by using the total units of blood collected in both government and private blood in the state.

"To ensure availability of safe blood, voluntary blood donation needs to be 100%. This can be achieved through awareness campaigns," said Manvendra Pratap Singh, project director of Assam Aids Control Society (ASACS).

'Stricter monitoring of blood transfusion vital' – The New Indian Express

3rd October, 2016

KOCHI: The Kochi unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urged the State Government to make the NAAT-test mandatory to ensure that blood used for transfusion is safe, with the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day being observed on October 1.

“Complications in blood transfusion may cause Transfusion Transmissible Infections(TTI) such as HIV, hepatitis-B and hepatitis-C, putting the lives of patients at risk. The Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology (NAAT) enables screening of donated blood units, thus reducing the risk of TTIs in patients,” pointed out doctors at the IMA Blood Bank-Kochi.

Red alert: The growing deficiency of blood donors - The New Indian Express

1st October, 2016

On May 14, 2014, Mahima Bhoi, a 17-year-old girl from Chirmiri in Chhattisgarh, was just another name in the long list of obituaries of Indians who fell victim to a rarely addressed problem. On her way to the weekly evening market, she was hit by a speeding motorcycle. She sustained serious injuries to her head. The hospital in the small town where she lived sent out for two units of AB blood group to a private blood bank. The hospital’s blood bank had run dry. There were too few donors. As Mahima’s relatives raced against the clock, she was losing dangerous amounts of blood. The stock of AB had run out weeks ago at the private blood bank too. It had not been replenished. Mahima died the next day.

274 units of blood collected at camp – The Tribune - Chandigarh

18 September, 2016

Sant Nirnakari Charitable Foundation contributed 274 units of blood to the PGI’s Blood Bank here today through a blood donation camp. This was stated by the mission’s zonal in-charge and former director, Health Services, Punjab, Dr BS Cheema.

Earlier in her inaugural address, Chandigarh Sub-Divisional Magistrate (East) Dr Tapasya Raghav lauded the exemplary voluntary spirit at Nirankari blood donation camps.

PGI Assistant Professor Dr Suchet Sachdev, Blood Transfusion, who headed the PGI’s 17-member team to collect blood, said Nirankari Mission had become an example of voluntary donation in the country.

Power Grid holds plantation drive, blood donation camp - The Tribune

17 September, 2016

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) organised a plantation drive and blood donation camp here today.

The plantation drive and blood donation camp were organised as a part of a countrywide programme. The plantation drives and blood donation camps were organised at 25 locations across the country wherein more than 500 units of blood was donated. More than 25,000 saplings were also planted in the plantation drive.

In one such function at its Regional Headquarters in Jammu, a plantation drive was carried out in the Power Grid office and township. A blood donation camp was organised at Government Medical College, Jammu, in association with the Department of Transfusion Medicine, Government Medical College, Jammu.

Test to avoid unwanted blood transfusion during dengue - The Times of India

6th September, 2016

The Immature Platelet Fraction (IPF) test during dengue can prevent unwanted blood transfusion along with the complications related to it, a study by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said on Monday.

If the IPF, a modern parameter that measures young and thereby reticulated platelets in peripheral blood, is high then there is no requirement of blood transfusion in a dengue patient even if there were initial indications of its requirement, the doctors said. The IPF level rise as bone marrow production of platelets increase. Therefore, its measurement provides an assessment of bone marrow platelet production from a peripheral blood sample, in a similar way to how a reticulocyte count could provide a measure of red cell production.

The study was conducted on 50 dengue patients who had platelet count less than 1,00,000/cumm and admitted to Ganga Ram Hospital last year. According to guidelines, platelet transfusion is indicated when its count is less than 20,000/cumm or if the patient has bleeding.

The indications of transfusion were present in 18 patients during the study. However, only 12 patients out of 18 (66.66 per cent) received appropriate transfusion.

In six of the 18 (33 per cent) patients, platelet transfusion was deferred as their immature platelet fraction values were high. Thus the IPF helped prevent platelet transfusion in one-third of the patients who would have received a platelet transfusion.

Why India needs 35 tanker-trucks of blood – The Economic times

3rd September, 2016

India is 35 tanker-trucks short of the blood it requires for medical procedures, yet some areas of the country wasted blood because there was too much of it, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of government data.

The shortage was estimated at 1.1 million units - as blood is measured, with a unit being either 350 ml or 450 ml - in 2015-16, Minister for Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda told the Lok Sabha in July 2016. We converted these data into tankers, assuming a standard tanker-truck of 11,000 lt and a 350 ml unit.

In percentage terms, India is 9 per cent short of its needs - the shortage reducing from 17 per cent in 2013-2014. The 9 per cent national shortfall hides local shortages and oversupply.

Rural blood storage centres proving big help to patients - The Times of India

27th August, 2016

Nagpur: In order to save lives during emergencies in rural areas, the state health department has established 22 blood storage centres in six districts of Nagpur division. Process to start seven more is going on. The storage centres are improving blood availability in rural areas where the patients in need of blood had to earlier travel to urban areas.

"Cases of delivery and pre-natal care that require the blood are mostly seen benefiting from these centres. It is also a relief for many sickle cell patients who require blood transfusion at regular intervals and otherwise had to travel to a city for the same," said the deputy director (health) Dr Sanjay Jaiswal. "These centres are enabling us to give faster services in cases of traffic accidents, they are helping patients save time as well the transportation cost," he added.

Four years ago, state government had sanctioned funds for 29 blood storage centres for Nagpur division. The centres are being setup at sub-district and rural hospitals. Each one is linked to a blood bank in government hospital in nearby city that supplies it with the blood stock based on its need.

Workshop on safe blood transfusion – The Times of India

13th August, 2016

Nagpur: A day long workshop 'Transmeet 16', on Friday, was organized jointly by food and drug administration (FDA) and Federation of Blood bank, Nagpur, at the API hall, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) to encourage technicians to follow rules more carefully in the absence of strict guidelines to maintain safe blood transfusion from vein to vein.

Nagpur federation of blood bank president Dr Harish Warbhe, who was also present at the workshop, said, "'Vein-to-vein quality management' is intended to cover all aspects of blood transfusion from the time the donor enters the clinic, to the transfusion of blood at the hospital and finally the management of complications of the transfusion."

"I won't say there is no strict law on maintaining safe blood, but laws are bare minimum and are not enough," he added.

Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH), on Thursday, has finally received licence to operate a blood component laboratory by FDA. The lab has acquired two machines to cater to the needs of of patients.

When life-saving blood kills – DNA

1st August, 2016

Blood donation is an altruistic activity. It should be on a voluntary basis. We don’t need anyone to certify this aspect of blood donation, but just to drive home the point even the highest judicial institution of the country says the same. The reality is quite different.

According to a research paper in Asian Journal of Transfusion Science, 50% of blood collection is estimated to be from paid blood sellers and merely 5% of the voluntary donors are repeated donors. With the severe shortage of blood in Indian hospitals, there is a burgeoning market for buying and selling of blood. Usually people from poor backgrounds such as daily wage earners or construction workers find this as a lucrative way of earning money. At the same time, people from impoverished sections are at a higher risk of contracting HIV

Blood supply improves, but India still faces a shortfall of 10 per cent – The Hindu

31st July 2016

India faced a 10 per cent shortage in its estimated blood requirement in 2015-16, an improvement from the 17 per cent shortfall reported in 2013-14, government data says. The estimated requirement is around 1.2 crore units per annum.

In 2015-16, blood collection through various sources, including blood donation camps, was 1.1 crore units — a shortage of 11.5 lakh units, according to data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The availability of blood is also sharply skewed. While Delhi had a surplus of 233 per cent in available blood units, Bihar faced an 85 per cent shortage — the State had just 1.6 lakh units available against a demand of 10.3 lakh units per annum — the Ministry said in response to a question in Parliament.

Data show that 16 States (including Union Territories) faced a shortage while 18 States had sufficient or excess of blood units.

However, the availability of blood units had improved from 2013-14 when a shortage of 17 per cent was recorded. The shortage was 21 lakh units in 2013-14.

World Hepatitis Day: HBV can also be sexually transmitted – DNA India

28th July 2016

Did you know that Hepatitis B virus could be sexually transmitted? If not then you are among the majority of people who know very little about this disease. And when you consider the high cost of treating Hepatitis B and C with even the generic drugs that are available in the market, it makes this virus even lethal.

"We see around 20 to 30 cases of Hepatitis B at our OPD on a weekly basis. It is more infectious and is transmitted sexually. Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through blood transfusion if the patient is given infected blood," said Dr Avinash Supe, dean of KEM hospital and director of medical education and major BMC hospitals.

‘182 infected by transfusion’ – The Asian Age

26th July 2016

As many as 182 people have been infected by HIV during blood transfusion in the last one and a half years, the Legislative Council was informed on Monday even as the government clarified that the figures were based on voluntary disclosure by clients at the integrated counselling and testing centres (ICTC).

Nationalist Congress Party’s member of Council House (MLC) Prakash Gajbhiye, through a written question, sought to know if the figures provided by National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) were true. According to NACO figures, 2,234 people across the country and 276 people in Maharashtra were affected by the virus.

HIV transmission: Why is blood transfusion in India not yet safe? - Scroll.in

25th June 2016

Nowhere in the world is transfused blood considered 100% safe. This, despite the fact that each unit of blood is mandatorily tested for infection, among other things, before transfusion.

This happens because several infections, such as Hepatitis A, B, C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, have a window period during which the virus doesn’t show up in a blood test.
So, if a person contracts the HIV today and decides to donate blood the next day, the laboratory that tests the blood will not detect the virus in it. The window period for HIV is usually between three weeks and three months, depending on the technology used at the laboratory.
Even the best-available technology in the market right now – the Nucleic Acid Amplification Test – only reduces the window period to seven days. It does not entirely eliminate the risk.
But India fares poorly
Despite this limitation, many countries have not reported a case of HIV transmission through blood transfusion for years now. Canada has had no transfusion-transmitted HIV cases since 1985. In the US, the last known case of HIV transmission was in 2008 and the risk of disease spreading through transfusion is one in two million donations. In the UK, the last known case of a viral infection, including HIV, transmitted through blood transfusion was in 2005.
In India, on the other hand, at least 2,234 people are reported to have been infected with HIV while getting blood transfusions in the last 17 months. The National Aids Control Organisation had on Wednesday revealed this in response to a Right to Information plea filed by activist Chetan Kothari.

Blood transfused to Balasore tiny girl tested Hepatitis C - Prameya News7

24th June 2016

Bhubaneswar: The blood transfused to a four-year-old girl at the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital a month ago has been tested Hepatitis C positive, much to the worry of parents and headache of the hospital administration.

The blood sample was tested Hepatitis C positive at a laboratory in Mumbai. The report has already reached the hospital.

On last Monday, the girl’s father and mother had alleged before the district Collector that their daughter had been given Hepatitis C-affected blood and sought financial help for her treatment.
The girl, a thalassemia patient, had been administered blood affected with Hepatitis C virus, which was received from the DHH blood bank, during regular blood transfusion, parents told the Collector.
The couple said the blood of their daughter was detected with the Hepatitis C virus when she went for blood check up at the SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack on May 28.
The test report found HCVAg (Hepatitis-C) positive in the girl’s blood but it was stated that it would be confirmed after an Elisa test.
According the blood sample had been sent to Mumbai for test.

Odisha issues guideline for blood transfusion – Business Standard

24th June 2016

The Odisha government today issued advisory on how to undertake blood transfusion process and decided to recruit 60 laboratory technicians to meet the shortage of manpower in blood banks across the state.

"We will soon appoint nearly 60 laboratory technicians under the National Health Mission (NHM) and about 50-60 data entry operators to meet the staff shortage problem," said health and family welfare secretary Aarti Ahuja. Stating that the state government has issued directives to blood bank officers and those who were in-charge to strictly adhere to the guidelines, Ahuja said those found violating the guideline would be punished.

She said this after a review meeting on proper management and development of the three medical colleges and 53 blood banks in the state.

While Rs 16 crore would be spent for augmenting infrastructure in blood banks in the state, an amount of Rs five crore would be spent for buying modern equipment, an official said.

Ahuja said the department has issued an advisory to all three government-run medical colleges and 53 blood banks to adopt proper procedure and maintain transparency while testing blood and its transfusion.

Botched blood transfusion: Health dept seeks RDC report – Odishatv.in

24th June 2016

Bhubaneswar: In the wake of two back to back botched-up blood transfusion cases, the State Health department has sought a report from the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) regarding the incidents, which have raised a question on the safety of blood transfusion in the state.

After attending a high level meeting convened to take stock of the situation, Health secretary Arati Ahuja said, “We have sought a report from the RDC and based on that stern action will be taken against the wrongdoers.”

Officials attending the meeting said the department has also issued a fresh advisory to all the hospitals and blood banks in the state directing them to maintain utmost level of safety standards while handling blood transfusion cases.

These Chilling Facts Show Why Every Indian Who Can Must Donate Blood Regularly - SW

14th June 2016

With an aim to create awareness about the important need to encourage safe blood donation practices, the World Health Organization (WHO) has earmarked June 14 as the World Blood Donor Day. WHO has named this year's campaign as 'World Blood Donor Day 2016: Blood connects us all'.

However, the practice of blood donation in India is still not widely prevalent among people. Here are some important facts which tell us why it is a matter of grave concern:

1) There is shortage of 30,00,000 blood units every year.
2) Every 2 seconds someone needs blood.
3) Just 150ml of blood can save 1 life.
4) 30,00,00,000 million blood components are transfused every year.
5) Only 1% of eligible donors actually donate blood.
6) 1 road accident victim can require up to 100 units of blood.
7) Only 7% Indian have O -ve blood.
8) An average adult has about 5 litres of blood in his body.
9) Only 350 – 450ml o blood is given during a donation.

Voluntary donation, safe blood - The Hindu

14th June 2016

Ensuring safe blood can become a reality only when replacement donors are phased out - India has come a long way in making safe blood available throughout the year, but much remains to be done before we reach the cherished goal of 100 per cent voluntary donation and the availability of safe blood across the country at all times. This is food for thought, especially on World Blood Donor Day which is observed every year or June 14.

Here is why. Voluntary donors from low-risk populations form the cornerstone of a programme of safe and adequate blood supply. Yet, voluntary donation comprises only about 70 per cent of the demand in India, with the rest being met by replacement donation.

Replacement donors are friends and relatives of a patient who donate blood as replacement for the blood given to the patient. Though paid blood donation was banned in January 1998 after the Supreme Court’s directive, replacement donation now ensures that professional donation continues to operate in the form of relatives/friends.

India facing a blood shortage of 3 million units - Times of India

03rd June 2016

According to a 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) report, only nine million units are collected annually, while the need is for 12 million units. Delhi NCR alone faces a shortage of 100,000 units per year.

"The shelf-life of donated blood is 35 to 42 days. There is a constant need to replenish stocks in our blood banks. The problem could be addressed if only two percent more Indians donated blood, but only one percent of eligible donors do so every day."
"Healthy donors are between the age of 18 to 65 years. So they should come out and donate blood,"

Importantly, the need is not only for blood but for "safe blood" and WHO has "Safe blood for saving mothers" as its theme for World Blood Donors Day on June 14.

India Seeks to Increase Donations – ADRP

15th May 2016

”Donation in any form has been a part of our cultural ethos, but donation of blood is irreplaceable. The challenge of today is to increase the number of voluntary blood donors and this can be achieved through peer guidance, appropriate education and awareness generation,”

Bad blood: 2,234 get HIV after transfusion – The Hindu

31st May 2016

In the last 17 months alone, 2,234 persons across India have been infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while getting blood transfusions. The maximum number of such cases — 361 — was reported from Uttar Pradesh due to unsafe blood transfusion practices in hospitals. Gujarat with 292 cases, Maharashtra with 276 and Delhi with 264 cases are the other leading States where patients have been transfused unsafe blood.

The data was revealed by National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) in response to a Right to Information query by activist Chetan Kothari.