The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), which was proposing an accreditation scheme for various blood transfusion services in the country, has now approached the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) to work out a feasible plan for the scheme. The accreditation scheme would aim at ensuring and recognizing higher standards of quality than that ensured by licensing in all aspects of blood transfusion services.

According to Dr. A. K. Chakrabarthy, Director, NABL and advisor, Department of Science and Technology, the accreditation scheme proposes to be an entirely voluntary activity, which the participating blood banks may take up and once accreditated, it would serve the interests of both the blood banks and the consumers in general. "The standards and processes will be drawn up for large and small blood banks, blood component separation units and possibly for blood storage centres that have been recently set up," he informed.

The accreditation scheme was mooted by NACO, as it wanted to have a quality check of blood donors by rating the blood banks and also making them upgraded to the accredited level. Dr Chakrabarthy said that the proposal to accredit one blood bank in each state to start with is currently in the discussion stage and once the confirmation comes from the NACO, the Board would form a panel of experts and work on this aspect. NACO has been toying with this idea for quite some time now.

NACO's idea of having blood banks accreditated by NABL is in line with its principle of giving more emphasis on blood banks and the blood donors and restore confidence among the users of blood. A NABL accreditation involves closer scrutiny of entire process within a blood bank and this also will help eliminate chances of a wrong doing within the blood bank. Besides, it will ensure that the blood bank has the requisite standards as laid down by the competent authority for collecting blood and de-fraction the same to individual components.

There will also be screening of voluntary blood donors and ensuring that the blood banks conduct all the necessary tests to see that the blood is free of disease germs.

Citing reports that some pathological laboratories were engaged in "unethical practices", in testing blood and urine samples, Chakrabarthy said various states, including Delhi, were contemplating to have compulsory accreditation for pathological labs, which at present was only voluntary.

Since the people had to suffer for the negligence of these laboratories, compulsory accreditation would curb the mushrooming of such labs, particularly, in the urban areas, Chakrabarthy added.