Even as there is acute shortage for human albumin across the country, Mumbai-based blood banks are providing the vital blood component called plasma required to manufacture albumin on a sustainable basis.

Though Reliance Life Sciences is awaiting central government's approval on imports of plasma required for its production on a large scale, official sources inform that Reliance is currently supplying human albumin under its brand Albu Rel to limited hospitals based on the demand.

Plasma separated from whole blood is fractionated to produce many useful life-saving components such as Factor VIII, fibrinogen, albumin, and gamma globulin. India now imports every year fractionated components valued at more than Rs.50 crore.

According to stockists, human albumin is currently scarcely available with prices ranging between Rs.3897 and Rs.4092 respectively. Pharmaceutical companies like Reliance, Intas, Bharat Serums and Baxter were major manufacturers and suppliers of albumin in Indian markets. After slashing of prices by the NPPA, they have stopped supply to domestic markets.

The price of one ml albumin injection of 20 per cent has been capped up to Rs.36. 66 after being brought under Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) -2013 issued by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). Albumin is an essential life-saving drug which should be priced reasonably, according to NPPA.

While hospitals, distributors and retail pharmacies have run out of supplies, shortages have also been reported in pharmacies and hospitals in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, etc.

Shortage of albumin can be attributed to the fact that the drug has been brought under DPCO-2013. "In such a scenario, some manufacturers might also resort to exporting the drug at higher prices for the sake of earning good profit," says a Mumbai based health expert.

It has also been reported that human albumin low sodium of 20 per cent strength in 100 ml used to cost around Rs.4,904 but was sold at a higher price of Rs.5,980 due to the shortage following NPPA price cut. The emergency drug which is generally being used as a life saving drug in cases of severe blood loss or in trauma cases was earlier being imported by few companies in India.

Human albumin serum is a protein in human plasma of the blood which is produced in liver. It maintains levels of calcium in the body and transports nutrients or drugs effectively in the blood stream. The body can suffer a shortage of albumin if a patient is affected by liver disease, kidney failure, burns, malnourishment, etc. In kidney transplants, when the blood group of the donor and the recipient does not match, plasma content in the recipient's blood has to be drained and albumin has to be transfused so that the donated kidney may not be rejected.

According to experts, the concept of component separation need to be embraced in the current scenario as blood availability through voluntary donation is rising but no serious effort is made to maximise the use of every unit of blood procured by blood banks.