The blood banks, transfusion practices and its related stake holders have a major role in controlling HIV/AIDS infection in the country, and similarly, to minimize mortality related to road accidents, said Dr.Anbumani Ramadoss, union minister for health and family welfare.

Addressing the 29th annual conference of the Indian Society for Blood Transfusion and Immunohematology (ISBTI) in Chennai, the minister noted India had the highest incidence of AIDS/HIV cases in the world, next to South Africa. During the early and mid 1990's, 8 per cent of the HIV infection was through blood transfusion. With stringent monitoring and regulatory mechanisms, licensing and upgradation of technology and transfusion practices, this has come down to in and around 3 per cent. The industry, with the support of the government, should aim to immediately reduce it to nil or at least below one per cent.

He said India was facing huge challenges in the healthcare scenario, in the form of emerging communicable and non-communicable diseases. Like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C has also become a large scale killer. However in India, road accidents have become the highest mortality causing challenge. It is high time to create awareness on road accidents and devise solutions to reduce accidents. The government has initiated a programme to establish peripheral blood collection storage centres to face emergency requirements in the case of accidents.

The Indian blood transfusion industry should stress on WHO guidelines on the quality of blood, as it suggests 90 per cent components and 10 per cent cold blood. In India, it is 80 per cent components and 20 per cent cold blood.

The minister also said the government was considering to start various courses in transfusion medicine in different parts of the country with public and private participation.

Dr. Ved Prakash Guptha, national president of the ISBTI also reiterated the need of new courses in the field of transfusion. According to him, the blood transfusion industry in the country require huge dearth of quality professionals in the field and the government should start post-graduate courses in at least one medical college in every state.

Talking to Pharmabiz on the sidelines of the 29th annual conference of ISBTI in Chennai, Dr. Guptha said at present Masters in Blood Transfusion Medicine is offered only at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh and Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow. It is high time to have adequate post graduate, graduate and diploma holders in the field of blood transfusion medicine. Similarly, the government should come forward with programmes and funds to conduct CME and training for professionals in the field, he added.

Dr. Guptha said that government should streamline the functioning of national and state level blood transfusion councils with clear-cut guidelines for proper implementation of the national policy on blood transfusion. It should become mandatory for these councils to meet at least once in three months and resolve the issues concerned with the sector.

The Central and State Governments should come forward to offer financial support to the various blood banks and programmes run by NGOs and other agencies involved for ensuring the safety of blood. The NGOs and related stakeholders in the sector should be given 100 per cent income tax exemption and imported transfusion equipments should be exempted from import duty, he opined.

Over 500 delegates attend the three-day conference, 'Vein to Vein.' The scientific sessions consist of three plenary lectures, 15 guest lectures and presentation of 64 papers. The key aspects of the discussions include review and exploring new areas in transfusion services, standardization of blood transfusion through collection, processing, storage and distribution.

The meet is also discussing the need for keeping blood transfusion services under the regulatory framework of the Drugs Control department, though blood is not a drug. The meet is also discussing the need for getting accredited with the National Board of Accreditation for Laboratories to upgrade blood transfusion services in the country.