Bengal raids blood banks, but thalassaemia patients fear running dry

West Bengal's new BJP government has moved swiftly against private blood banks following allegations of serious irregularities, including blood being given in exchange for gifts and sold to other states without informing the State Blood Transfusion Council. But amid the raids, licence restrictions and daily media statements, one question is becoming increasingly urgent: what happens to the thousands of children with thalassaemia who depend on these same private blood banks for life-saving transfusions?

The health department has ordered a halt to off-site blood donation camps organised by 12 private blood banks, officially known as 'blood centres'. Raids are also being carried out at private blood banks almost every day, with health minister Dr Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay publicly highlighting the government's action.

There is little dispute that allegations of wrongdoing should be investigated. But families of thalassaemia patients say the government appears to have acted against private blood banks without making adequate arrangements for the patients who depend on them.

Throughout the year, local clubs, neighbourhood groups and other organisations organise blood donation camps. Parents of children with thalassaemia often collect the donated blood and hand it over to private blood banks. In return, they are assured that their children will receive blood when required, either free of charge or at a nominal cost.

For these families, this is not simply a matter of convenience. It is a matter of survival.

Private blood banks maintain records of thalassaemia patients who receive blood from them, including their blood groups and residential addresses. Critics allege that before stopping their off-site camps, the authorities did not take steps to obtain these patient lists and establish an alternative system through which affected families could obtain blood easily from government facilities or centres closer to their homes. No such alternative arrangement, they claim, was announced before the crackdown began.

The concern is particularly serious because thalassaemia patients cannot always be given whatever blood happens to be available. Many require phenotype-matched blood, and doctors must also take account of antibodies and other complications arising from repeated transfusions.

Jayanta Som, a key official of the Thalassemic Guardians Association, knows the problem personally. His son was diagnosed when he was just six months old. "The struggle began when my son was six months old; he is now 16. He requires three units of blood every month, and the blood must be phenotype-matched," Som said.

He stressed that he was not defending irregularities at private blood banks. "Private blood banks have committed irregularities, and the government is investigating — which is good. But our children rely on these places for blood. Alternative arrangements must be made, right?" he asked.

According to Som, around 150 children with thalassaemia and their families are associated with his organisation, and about 80 per cent of them depend on private blood banks. "Eighty per cent of these patients depend on private blood banks, yet the government has revoked the licences of these banks to conduct blood donation camps," he said.

The immediate concern is the dwindling stock of blood. "The existing stock will last only until Saturday. What happens after that?" Som asked. His appeal to the government was stark and deeply personal: "Please do not view our children as a curse."

Som said the families were prepared to protest if necessary. "If necessary, all the affected children and their parents will take to the streets to save our kids. We will write to the chief minister," he said.

Sources within the organisation said its members had required around 400 units of blood over the past three months alone. The annual requirement last year was around 2,000 units. Yet, according to Som, no one from the health department had contacted the families to discuss the situation or offer reassurance.

The anxiety is being felt well beyond one organisation. D. Ashish, a long-time activist in the blood donation movement, said he was receiving calls from families from different parts of the city. "I am receiving calls from families of thalassaemia-affected children from all quarters," he said. "The government must ensure there are no hurdles in obtaining phenotype-matched blood and managing antibodies."

For parents, the government's suggestion that patients simply go to a government blood bank does not resolve the problem. Jayanta Sarkar, a Behala resident whose son has thalassaemia, said, "You cannot simply walk into any government blood bank and ask for blood; treating thalassaemia patients involves many other complex factors."

The health minister, however, rejected the concerns. "This is all misinformation," he said, alleging that some NGOs were spreading the claims "with ulterior motives".

The minister pointed to the dedicated thalassaemia unit at the Maniktala Central Blood Bank. "There is a dedicated unit for thalassaemia patients at the Maniktala Central Blood Bank," Mukhopadhyay said. "They should go there. No one will face any problems."

The minister's assurance will need to be matched by action on the ground. For families living with thalassaemia, a promise that "no one will face any problems" is meaningful only if the required blood is actually available when a child needs it.

For a child who needs a transfusion every month, there is no luxury of waiting for an administrative system to catch up. A blood shortage is not an inconvenience. It can be a matter of life and death.