With the aim of introducing Haemovigilance Programme of India (HvPI) for effective reporting adverse events during blood transfusion, National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) is planning to introduce Android mobile application for adverse donor reaction reporting along with putting in place a toll-free number to ensure that safe blood is made available to the common man.

This will help the recipients and donors to report adverse reactions online through their mobile phones, the modalities of which will be discussed in the forthcoming 1st meet of National Executive Committee of HvPI to be held on August 21, 2015 at NIB, Noida under the chairpersonship of Prof Neelam Marwaha, head, department of transfusion medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh.
 
The meeting will also discuss among other agendas the designing of a detailed new Transfusion Reaction Reporting Form (TRRF) for reporting adverse reactions during and after blood transfusion, and also the adverse donor reaction reporting format under National Blood Donor Vigilance Programme (NBDVP).

To help broaden the scope of HvPI in the country which was earlier limited to report transfusion reactions in blood recipients only, health ministry is in the process of launching an online platform to get access to and connect with blood donors as a part of its recently introduced NBDVP.

NBDVP was launched on June 14, 2015 on World Blood Donor Day at science city, Kolkata to improve donor safety and satisfaction through monitoring, analysing and researching adverse events. It envisages to help analyse risk factors, implement and evaluate preventive measures, reduce frequency of adverse events  and increase donor frequency.

Launched in June 2015, NBDVP will complement HvPI which currently generates reports on blood recipient related adverse reaction through a TRRF. This is then linked via Haemovigil software to NIB.

In a similar manner, NBDVP will collect blood donor data from blood banks and medical institutions through a Blood Donor Adverse Reaction Reporting Form (BDARF). This will help us to come full circle with respect to reporting adverse reactions both in terms of blood donor and recipient and hence serve the larger purpose of blood safety through HvPI.

The National Executive Committee meet will also deliberate among other major agendas on the reconstitution of Signal Review Panel, Quality Review Panel, Training Review Panel, State Working Group and Haemovigilance Advisory Committee. It will also discuss review of analysis of transfusion reaction reports under HvPI submitted by Quality Review Panel and collaboration with International Haemovigilance Network (IHN).

HvPI at the national level was launched on December 10, 2012 by NIB functioning under the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) to track adverse reactions associated with blood transfusion and blood product administration. NIB is the national co-ordinating centre (NCC) in 90 medical institutions within the country and has 207 centres under its umbrella including blood banks and medical institutions.