RTI: 350 litres of blood wasted by Bhabha Hospital in 5 years

MUMBAI: An RTI has revealed that over 350 litres of precious blood units got wasted at the civic-run KB Bhabha Hospital in Bandra in the last five years. It means that for every five 350ml of blood that was collected by the hospital's bank, one bag could not be utilised before the expiry period of 35 days.

Experts have said while wastage of a few units was a norm in most blood banks, the hospital's blood bank has been discarding between 17-32% of blood that is collected annually over the years.

The RTI activist, who did not wish to be named, said the numbers suggested a callous approach in distributing the blood units.

This year too, from January till November 25, around 86 units of blood was discarded out of the 922 that was collected. In 2015, around 210 units were wasted out of the 901 that was collected. “The norm is to start looking for any requirement in nearby banks as soon as the expiry date approaches,“ said the activist. An insider said the hospital lacks a robust social welfare department that would look into ways to transfer the unused blood units by getting in touch with the neighbouring departments.

Medical superintendent Dr P Jadhav, however, defended the blood bank saying the wastage was unavoidable to a great extent. “Once a blood unit is cross-matched and kept ready for a surgery patient, it cannot be given to anyone else. If the patient doesn't require the blood, the units go waste. But we usually get in touch with the nearby banks and find out if they have any requirement,“ he said.