Demand to install advanced screening systems in blood banks in Kerala to detect infections

Kerala's blood banks are facing pressure to install advanced screening systems to detect HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C infections, following reports of these diseases spreading among college students. The Blood Patients Protection Council, a welfare organization, emphasizes that college students have traditionally been a safe donor group due to voluntary donations. However, concerns have arisen over the rising prevalence of viral infections in young donors, prompting health organizations to take action.

The Collegiate Education Department and Visvesvaraya Technological University in Karnataka have already initiated integrated health camps for HIV testing and counselling in engineering and degree colleges. This response followed a request from the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society, which reported a surge in HIV cases among the 18-35 age group in Karnataka, rising from 44,500 in 2023-24 to 66,600 by 2025-26.

Similarly, reports of blood transfusion-related infections have emerged in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, with over 7,000 young individuals in the 18-25 age group in Karnataka diagnosed with HIV.

Instances of thalassemia and Hepatitis B and C infections resulting from blood transfusions have also been documented among children in Kerala, though they have been hesitant to share their identities. One HIV-infected child recently underwent a bone marrow transplant in Bengaluru, expected to remain HIV-negative for another two years.

Kareem Karassery, president of the Blood Patients Protection Council, advocates for mandatory nucleic acid testing technology in blood banks, as many currently lack access to such advanced screening methods.

Karassery has written to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, urging the establishment of a nationwide awareness campaign on preventing HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C, particularly targeting adolescents and college students. He also proposes integrating information about blood-borne infections, transmission modes, and preventive measures into the higher secondary school curriculum.

The council advocates for the installation of NAT screening facilities in government and private blood banks across the country, as well as the development of a national policy to provide financial compensation, lifelong medical care, and rehabilitation support to patients who contract infections through blood transfusions.