With the objective of improving quality of blood transfusion chain through haemovigilance, Partnership for Safe Medicine, Consumer Online Foundation, Mata Anadmayee Hospital, Varanasi in collaboration with NIB are organising a plenary session on the subject, “Protect and Promote Public Health by Improving Quality of Blood Transfusion Chain through Haemovigilance from Donor to Recipient”.

The seminar will deliberate on Haemovigilance, Drugs and Cosmetics Rules and reporting of adverse transfusion reactions, promoting safe blood transfusion practices – role of hospital transfusion committee and haemovigilance nurse, and also role of voluntary blood donor organisations and donor vigilance.

Dr Manisha Shrivastava, head, department of transfusion medicine, Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre, Bhopal (MP), Dr G Selveraj, former director-drugs, drugs control department, Tamil Nadu, Dr Shakti Kumar Gupta, medical superintendent, Dr RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi and Apurba Ghosh, secretary general, Federation of Blood Donor Organisations of India would be the main speakers.

This will be followed by a panel discussion with participation from Dr Shakti Kumar Gupta, medical superintendent, Dr RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr G Selveraj, former director--drugs, drugs control department, Tamil Nadu, Prof Vinod Panikar head, department of transfusion medicine, Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute, Chennai, Dr H G Koshia, commissioner, Food and Drug Control Administration, Gujarat and H Mahapatra, state drugs controller, Orissa and Dr Manisha Shrivastava, head, department of transfusion medicine, Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre, Bhopal (MP).

With an aim to monitor transfusion reactions and reporting adverse events during blood transfusion, Haemovigilance Programme of India (HvPI) at the national level was launched on December 10, 2012 by NIB functioning under the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW), as the national co-ordinating centre (NCC) in 90 medical institutions within the country to track adverse reactions associated with blood transfusion and blood product administration.

HvPI aims to identify trends in adverse reactions and events, thereby to form transfusion policy, target areas for improvement in practice, stimulate research, raise awareness of transfusion hazards, give an early warning of new complications to improve safety of transfusion for patients.

Such information is also key to introduce required changes in the applicable policies, improve standards, systems and processes, assist in the formulation of guidelines, and increase the safety and quality of the entire process from donation to transfusion. It is a boon for hospital deans and directors, major blood users among the clinicians and blood bank officers from all government, municipal and private hospitals, drug regulators, officials from other government and municipal agencies.