Blood going waste in BR Ambedkar hospital

The cold storage centre for blood at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital has been lying unused and gathering dust for the past two years. The municipal corporation hospital was renovated at an expense of '100 cr in 2013. While patients who visit the hospital are suffering and donated blood is getting wasted from the lack of cold storage facility, government bodies are busy passing the buck.

Two years ago, the state government had a plan to set up nine blood storage units in Mumbai that would operate under the primary blood bank, Sir JJ Mahanagar Raktapedhi in Byculla. But as per a Right to Information (RTI) application, a request for plan approval of blood storage center at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital was submitted to Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) twice on December 9, 2013 and July 16, 2014. Further, on November 17, 2014 and May 11, 2015 the hospital had again sent two letters to FDA asking about the status of the application. But no response has yet been received by the hospital authority.

According to the rules laid down by National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), the state licensing authority is supposed to approve the blood storage unit after inspecting if the conditions and facilities are satisfactory. However, so far the FDA has not even inspected the center, which is the first step in granting permission to any blood storage center.

When contacted, Vinita Thomas, assistant commissioner (drugs), said, \"We have not received any such request from the hospital that's why inspection has not been carried out yet.\"

Moreover, as per NACO, before applying for the approval, the storage centre will have to maintain some requirements such as availability of electricity 24X7, dedicated doctors and technicians who would assist in the functioning of the cold storage facility. The center would also need to have equipments like storage refrigerator and reagent refrigerator but sadly, the center does not have these basic facilities to function as a cold storage for blood.

When The Asian Age visited the centre on the first floor of pathology laboratory, the 150 sq ft room was locked. After investigation, it was found out that the room does not have 24X7 electricity connection and State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC). Also, the BMC has not provided either doctors or technicians for the facility even though it is compulsory under NACO rules.

Since June 30, 2014, equipments like computers, incubator, centrifuge, crossmatch reader, domestic refrigerator, furniture and icebox are lying unused in the room. But the “room” lacks a blood storage refrigerator and reagent refrigerator that are compulsory under NACO for such a facility.

\"As per SBTC, BMC is not responsible for appointing any technicians, doctors or staff nurse. SBTC is supposed to provide it,\" said Dr Krishnakumar Pimple, medical superintendent of Sir JJ Mahanagar Raktapedhi.

For the past two years, the hospital has been training technicians on how to operate blood storage centres and other basic procedures like storage, grouping, cross- matching and release of blood. But Maharashtra's rules state that only three days' training is sufficient to work in blood storage centre.

Despite repeated attempts, Dr Girish Chaudhari, director of SBTC refused to comment on the matter.