‘Donors got mixer grinders, cash’: blood banks in Bengal under scanner over ‘illegal’ sale to other States
Officials said around 11 blood banks have been barred from organising donation drives until the investigation is over. However, they are still permitted to collect blood from donors at their centres
Six blood banks in West Bengal are currently under investigation for allegedly engaging in an inter-State, multi-crore racket of selling blood to individuals and private blood banks outside the State. The National Blood Policy, introduced in 2002, prohibits the sale of blood, but these raids have uncovered a network of blood banks in Kolkata, Howrah, East Burdwan, West Burdwan, Nadia, and North Dinajpur districts that have been selling plasma to entities in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat.
Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee revealed that donors at a camp in South 24 Parganas were offered gifts such as fans, mixer grinders, clocks, and cash, which is against the rules. Around 11 blood banks have been barred from organizing donation drives until the investigation is over, but they are still allowed to collect blood from donors at their centers.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu Health's own syndicated text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
