No funds to develop blood banks: Telangana Govt

Hyderabad: No proper funding was provided for the infrastructural development of the public blood banks across Telangana State between 2016 and 2019, reveals an RTI reply to a query filed by Robin Zaccheus, an activist.

Speaking to the Hans India, Zaccheus said, "I filed an RTI two months back. As the RTI response states, no funding was provided for the betterment of these blood banks."

According to the AIDS Control Department of the central government, the basic principle of non-profitability should be followed in blood banking and the government should continue to levy no charges for blood.

For government blood banks, the processing charges are recommended as follows: whole blood Rs 1,050 per unit; packed red cells Rs 1,050 per unit; fresh frozen plasma Rs 300 per unit; platelets concentrate Rs 300 per unit; and, cryoprecipitate Rs 200 per unit.

The recommended processing charges for non-government blood banks are worked out for whole blood Rs 1,450 per unit, for packed red cells at Rs 1,450 per unit, for fresh frozen plasma at Rs 400 per unit, for platelet concentrate at Rs 400 per unit and for cryoprecipitate at Rs 250 per unit.