At a time of scarcity, blood bank in Pune lies unused for 8 years

The facility at Aundh district hospital has been non-functional owing to a leakage which the PWD has been unable to fix, thereby blocking clearance from FDA

In the absence of blood donation camps due to the pandemic, citizens have been forced to run from pillar to post to find blood/plasma donors, while getting fleeced by private hospitals and blood banks. What rankles at a time like this is that a blood bank built by the state government in the city has been gathering dust, failing to kick off operations in the eight years it has been in existence.

It turns out that the inability of the Public Works Department (PWD) to fix a leakage in the structure housed on the premises of the Aundh district hospital, has kept the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from clearing the facility for operations. Many of the Rs 2-crore worth of equipment still remain sealed in their original packaging, having gone well past their warranty period. Some are also damaged by the incessant leakage which has dodged resolution.

Taking up the issue, city-based health activist Sharath Shetti registered a complaint with the public health department while also writing to health minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday.

ALSO READ:


He drew attention to the unfortunate state of the invested blood bank christened ‘Metro Blood Bank’ that was slated to cater to Pune city, Pimpri-Chinchwad and the rural fringes, with acapacity to store and distribute 1,000 blood bags.


“The operation of the Metro Blood Bank could have offered a major relief to the COVID-19 patients. But the apathy of the health officers in getting it operational has not only wasted public money but also cost the life of many,” alleged Shetti, speaking to Mirror.

Pointing out that it was the first among 10 blood banks approved by the public health department to exclusively deal with blood components, he added, “Besides the Rs 2-crore spent on equipment, several lakhs were spent on furniture and other infrastructure of the lab. The repeated costs incurred on repairs to plug the leak remain unaccounted. Yet, nothing has come of it. As senior officers moved on with their transfers, the investment went to waste with nobody bothering to make the facility operational even during the pandemic.”

He further pointed out, “The blood bank is equipped with high-end blood separation equipment to isolate five important components – fresh frozen plasma (FFP), packed cell volume (PCV), platelet, platelet-rich plasma and cryoprecipitate. But with time the depreciation of the machines is robbing them of their utility – all thanks to incompetent authorities unable to fix apetty problem.”

While the district civil surgeon could not be reached, a doctor at the Aundh Civil Hospital, on condition of anonymity, admitted, “The leakage is the major issue which has prevented FDA from giving the green signal for bank to start operating. FDA approval is mandatory to get a nod from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for the final grant to run such blood banks. PWD made several attempts to address the issue but it kept coming back. In the past few years, the senior officials have stopped following up on the status of the project, leaving it neglected.”

ALSO READ:

ZP and Sassoon will screen kids to fight malnutrition crisis

Affected children will get dedicated medical attention

APWD official, involved in the repair and maintenance of the civil hospital, claimed, “Our engineers have tried to repair the leakage but it requires a specialised treatment. We also built a hall over the upper part of the slab which may have developed cracks leading to the leakage. But even that has not helped.”

Confronted on the issue, Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, deputy director, public health department, Pune, admitted to the situation and then claimed, “We are trying to start the re-registration procedure by resolving all pending issues.” When questioned on why this was not done at the peak of the pandemic when the bank’s operation was needed most, he said, “The premises was converted into a COVID-care centre, so we could not act on it.”

Meanwhile, the struggle continues for the patients and their relatives. Vishal Sathe, the relative of an anaemia patient, recounted, “We are forced to spend Rs 1,500 a bag from the private labs. Given this scenario, there is a dire need for such a facility to provide relief to patients who belong to the marginal income group.”