‘State govt has no powers over blood banks’

The Gujarat government has absolved itself of all responsibility in the matter of blood banks in the state which are allegedly making huge profits from sale of human blood.

In an affidavit filed in the Gujarat high court, the state government has said that, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act-1940, it has no powers to order an inquiry into the blood donation and distribution channels of blood banks. This power is vested in the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC), the affidavit says.

The state government submitted the affidavit before the division bench of the high court comprising chief justice Bhaskar Bhattcharya and Justice JB Pardiwala. The bench is hearing a PIL over the issue.

“If concerned blood banks are found trading whole human blood or its components, it does not give any power to the state government to inquire into such aspects, under the rules of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940,” says the affidavit filed by the office of the commissioner of Food and Drugs Control Administration.

“The state is only a licensing authority which forwards proposals for establishing blood banks. [These are] finally dealt with the Central government,” the affidavit states.

In the PIL filed by Ahmedabad resident, Ashok Naik, it is stated that there was no supervision, control or audit of the blood or blood components received by blood banks and distributed by them.

Making various allegations against the Prathama Blood Bank, which is among the largest blood banks in the state, the petitioner said that it was run for profit and not for any social cause.

Meanwhile, the Advanced Transfusion Medicine Research Foundation which runs Prathama blood bank, has filed an affidavit before the high court dismissing all allegations levelled by the petitioner as baseless.