Hospitals and blood banks can only charge processing fees for blood from now on, the health ministry said, in a move to stop them from overcharging.
In a notice dated 26 Dec, the apex drug regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) said all other fees associated with supply of blood were being scrapped.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi said the decision was taken because of the view that “blood is not for sale".
Referring to a meeting of the Drugs Consultative Committee held on 26 September, the DCGI said, “With respect of agenda ... for overcharging of blood, it was opined that blood is not for sale, it is only for supply and only processing cost may be charged by the blood centre."
The new guidelines stipulate that only processing fees can be charged for blood or blood components which ranges between ₹ 250 and ₹1,550.
According to officials, private hospitals charge as much as ₹ 3,000 to ₹8,000 per unit of blood. In cases of blood shortage or rare blood groups, the charges may go up higher.
However, the blood bank organisations are of the opinion that this notice is going to make little impact on the costing. “When a blood is collected, it is divided in four categories - red blood cell, white blood cell, plasma and platelets. So irrespective of a blood bank or a hospital, there is always going to be that minimal charges. Blood is a donated thing, and cannot be given randomly. There were many complaints on the malpractices of the private hospitals, and hopefully with this re-tweak notice, it will come to an end," said Bhawna Arora, Founder KAB Welfare Foundation.
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