India Reviews Blood Bank Preparedness, Sets 2026 District Target

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the review comprehensively assessed the status of Blood Transfusion Services (BTS) across the country, covering the five critical stages of service delivery: Licensing and Renewal; Donor Screening and Blood Collection; Testing for Transfusion-Transmitted Infections (TTIs) and referral/linkage of reactive donors; Processing, Storage and Issuance; and Reporting and Record-keeping.

Performance was evaluated against a structured framework of 10 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), using data from eRaktKosh, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Blood Bank Management System (BBMS) and inspection records of regulatory authorities.

The review highlighted both progress and key systemic gaps. While several States and Union Territories have demonstrated strong performance across multiple indicators, variability persists in areas such as district-level availability of blood centres, licensing compliance, voluntary blood donation rates, referral and linkage of TTI-reactive donors, component separation capacity and real-time digital reporting.

It was noted that approximately 10% of districts in the country currently do not have a blood centre, underscoring the need for accelerated expansion of infrastructure. Similarly, gaps remain in digital integration, with a significant number of blood centres yet to be onboarded on eRaktKosh and BBMS, limiting real-time visibility and monitoring.

In his chairing remarks, Gupta reiterated the national goal of ensuring timely access to safe blood in every district, with zero transfusion-transmitted infections. He emphasised the milestone of establishing at least one blood centre in every district by December 2026, in line with the National Blood Policy.

The review also noted encouraging practices in several States and Union Territories, including high levels of voluntary blood donation, strong testing proficiency under External Quality Assessment Schemes (EQAS) and effective referral and linkage mechanisms for TTI-reactive donors.

A set of priority actions for the coming quarters was outlined. These include strengthening district-level ownership and administrative convergence; ensuring 100% licensing compliance of all operational blood centres; enforcing standard operating procedures for blood collection and donation camps; and scaling up voluntary blood donation through structured outreach and awareness campaigns.

States and Union Territories were also advised to progressively transition to advanced testing protocols, including 4th generation ELISA/CLIA-based screening and to expand component separation capacity to optimise utilisation of collected blood.

The Ministry emphasised the need for full digital integration of blood transfusion services, including 100% onboarding and real-time data updation on eRaktKosh and BBMS. The adoption of ABDM-enabled biometric donor identification and creation of Health Facility Registry (HFR) identifiers for all blood centres were identified as critical steps to strengthen traceability, transparency and service delivery.

The review further underscored the importance of strengthening referral and linkage systems to ensure that all donors identified with transfusion-transmitted infections are connected to appropriate care and treatment programmes.

A time-bound action plan will be implemented jointly by the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC), State Blood Transfusion Councils (SBTCs), Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), State Food and Drugs Administrations (FDAs), and the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), with progress to be reviewed through structured monthly and quarterly monitoring mechanisms.

In his concluding remarks, Gupta outlined key operational directions for States and Union Territories, including review of the licence status of all blood centres, ensuring universal digital adoption and real-time reporting, strengthening human resource capacity through standardised training and enabling ABDM-linked donor identification across all facilities.

The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with States and Union Territories to build a robust, efficient and transparent blood transfusion system, ensuring safe, accessible and adequate blood supply for every citizen.

- ANI