The extremely slow pace at which the Union Health Ministry is moving on the establishment of the National Blood Transfusion Authority in the country has come in for severe criticism from the parliamentary committee attached to the Health Ministry.

For last some years, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), an arm of the Union Health Ministry, has been in the process of bringing a Bill to set up the National Blood Transfusion Authority with a view to streamline the blood transfusion services in the country and also to check the selling of spurious blood products and using of tainted blood for transfusion. But, the progress on the same has been slow.

“The Committee is pained at the slow progress in establishing the National Blood Transfusion Authority and setting up of a Plasma Fractionation Plant. Both these initiatives are important. It is very disappointing that the same still remains on paper even after two years. The Committee would like to be informed about the reasons for the inordinate delay and the deadline by which the same would be set up. It recommends to the Department to make all conceivable efforts to achieve the aforesaid targets at the earliest,” the parliamentary panel in its latest report said.

The National Blood Transfusion Authority is being established to regulate all activities related to the blood collection and transfusion and will make good laboratory practices mandatory for the blood banks. There are 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 already has a National Blood Policy and a National Blood Programme to ensure adequate supply of safe and quality blood. But the new legislation is being proposed to define the roles of these authorities clearly and ensure quality of blood banks and infection-free transfusions.

According to sources, the ministry had already made a draft Cabinet Note on setting up of National Blood Transfusion Authority and was sent to various departments for their comments. Based on the comments received, the draft has been revised and is being followed up.