Timely blood transfusion is a critical medical need to save lives of people in emergencies but many patients requiring blood do not have access to safe blood in India and many developing countries. The demand for blood transfusion, at the same time, has increased manifold in recent times with a steep rise in road accidents and spread of life style diseases. Around 92 million units of blood donations are collected globally every year and nearly 50% of these blood donations are collected in high-income countries. Adequate and reliable supply of safe blood can only be assured by a stable base of regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors. Regular, voluntary and unpaid blood donors are also the safest group of donors as the prevalence of blood borne infections is lowest among these donors. In India, the Central government has been seriously looking at the inadequacy of blood transfusion activity for some time. The proposal to establish a National Blood Transfusion Authority thus came up towards the end of 2008. NBTA was mooted to regulate all activities related to the blood collection and transfusion and make good laboratory practices mandatory for the blood banks. There are currently more than 2300 licensed blood banks in the country and health ministry is providing technical and financial support to around 1230 of the public and charitable blood banks.
India is already having a National Blood Policy and a National Blood Programme to provide regular supply of safe blood. But that goal is yet to be achieved and a serious shortage of quality blood still exists in the country. The new Authority was proposed with the intention to effectively implement the blood policy and programme to ensure proper functioning of blood banks and infection-free transfusions to most people. A draft cabinet note was thus prepared and sent to various government departments such as Department of Expenditure & Economic Affairs, Department of Health and Planning Commission in September 2009 for comments. The comments were expected from the departments and Planning Commission by the end of 2009 so that the Authority could be set up by April 2010. With no comments from these departments so far and the failure of the National AIDS Control Organization to address some of the deficiencies of the proposal, NBTA is unlikely to be formed for the time being. Now, the ministry of finance has also taken objection to the establishment of the Authority. It is unfortunate that the health ministry has failed to set up a body like NBTA after fully knowing providing safe blood is, perhaps, the most fundamental need of the people of this country. Serious efforts should be made by the Central and state governments to revive the NBTA formation in the interest of public health.