A Hubli-based blood bank supplied HIV infected blood to a patient and was allegedly let off with a mere warning. A medical store in Belgaum was found stocking half used and expired blood bags in the refrigerator. Pharmacists sold blood bags at their counters in Gulbarga. These were some of the statements recorded by Lok Ayukta during its interrogations.
The stock and sale of blood by medical stores is being allowed by the department personnel all over the State, alleged MN Ramamurthy, deputy drugs controller during the interrogations by Justice N Venkatachala, head, Lok Ayukta. He submitted to Lok Ayukta that the drugs controller should have suspended the licence of MR Diagnostics Research Centre Blood Bank, Hubli for supplying HIV infected blood.
The blood was sought by the Basel Mission Church of South India Hospital Gadag for its patient in 2001. Ramamurthy said that the drugs controller took almost two years to decide on the case pertaining to the HIV infected blood.
Throwing more light on how the drugs controller had failed to check the sale of infected blood, Ramamurthy said that the hospital had received one unit of blood from the MR Diagnostics and when checking for HIV 1& 2 it was found to be positive. The matter was brought to the notice of the deputy drugs controller.
The hospital had written to S H Anegundi who got the blood checked and confirmed it to be HIV positive. The assistant drugs controller had recommended appropriate action by the drugs controller, Anand Rajashekar, who in turn just sought an explanation from the blood bank. However in January 2003, the drugs controller closed the case by just issuing a warning to the blood bank owner instead of prosecuting.
The latter had sent a notice to the blood bank. But when the persons concerned from the blood bank had come and met him and offered some excuses, 'he merely warned them with some remarks,' pointed out Ramamurthy during the interrogations.
Ramamurthy further informed that Revannasiddhapa Hirole, assistant drugs controller, Gulbarga circle had found during a surprise inspection of Mysore Medical Hall in Gulbarga that it had stocked blood bags of different blood groups in the refrigerator. "Likewise, no action was taken against the owner of the Mysore Medical Hall for stocking blood banks in the store. Though the drugs controller was required to get the bags tested this had not been done for obvious extra monetary gains," he said.
Though the department officials had seized the blood bags in September 1999, no effort had been made so far to ascertain whether the bags contained human blood or animal blood, he said. "The drugs controller had not taken serious action against required to be initiated against it."
In another case, Sri Ganesh Medicals Belgaum which stored expired and half used blood was let off with the so-called 'departmental action' by the office of the drugs controller. The blood bags were seized by the inspectors in July 2000 and no action had been taken against the owner till date.
Instead of preventing medical stores from selling blood bags by instituting criminal cases against them, the Karnataka drugs control department was abetting such illegal acts by druggists and chemists, noted Ramamurthy.
Although these druggists were playing with the human lives and no patient who takes such blood can survive, only departmental action was considered, he said.