The National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) is planning to have a countrywide haemo-vigilance programme in place to encourage appropriate clinical use of blood and blood products. The NBTC is in the process of forming a technical resource group and a monitoring committee to chalk out the details of the programme. The State Blood Transfusion Councils (SBTC) will implement the "national haemo-vigilance programme".

NBTC has also decided to ask the state drug regulatory departments to audit the blood collection and blood component preparation activities of the blood banks during their routine inspections. The SBTC will have to ensure annual auditing and put mechanisms in place to ensure optional utilisation of blood components, it is learnt.

In order to ensure effective clinical blood supply, the NBTC will adopt and disseminate the WHO Guidelines on the Clinical Use of Blood. This document will be circulated to all hospitals, blood banks, corporate hospitals, Red Cross Society of India, Indian Medical Associations, Association of Nursing Homes, medical colleges and teaching institutions, and to all stakeholders.

NBTC is in consultation with the Medical Council of India to include the lectures of transfusion specialists on appropriate use of blood and its components in its Continuing Medical Education (CME) programmes for clinicians. The council feels that clinicians need to familiarise themselves with the systems for collection, screening and processing of blood, and understand any limitations that it may impose on the safety or availability of blood. It is known that the appropriate use of blood and blood products optimises the clinical benefits of blood transfusion while minimising adverse effects. There are also plans to introduce transfusion medicine as a subject or a module in undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses, again in consultation with MCI.

The NBTC has also decided to prepare guidelines in respect of blood components to be compiled and disseminated across the country. Use of blood components (red cell, fresh frozen plasma (FFP), plasma, platelet concentrate & cryoprecipitate) enables a single blood donation to go a longer way by pre-empting transfusion of components a patient may not require and addresses the needs of more than one patient.