Sustainable Health Dialogue: Multi-dimensional Approach to Ensuring Safe Blood Transfusion

Adequate and safe transfusion of blood and blood components is the cornerstone of modern healthcare systems, but developing nations like India are plagued with an inadequate policy and industry focus on blood transfusion. There are many gaps that need to be patched in the existing blood system and its regulatory framework, which requires a consistent and convergent approach between different stakeholders and the medical community.

The first edition of the Sustainable Health Dialogue, organized in January 2019, featured participation from 10 key stakeholders, including NITI Aayog, National Blood Transfusion Council, and transfusion experts from Johns Hopkins University, AIIMS New Delhi and other leading medical institutes in the nation. Our objective was to mainstream the agenda of blood safety amongst key government stakeholders and experts, create advocates for reforming the blood safety ecosystem in India and identify the priority challenges and way forward to bring about tangible change in the blood transfusion ecosystem.
Impact:
? The roundtable discussion resulted in consensus on the need for strong legislation on blood among all key stakeholders.
? Post the roundtable, NITI Aayog is increasingly recognising blood as a priority focus area – A Senior Consultant (Health) at NITI Aayog published an opinion article in Financial Express on “Going Beyond Blood Donation – roadmap for creating an adequate and safe blood transfusion system in India”.
? NITI Aayog has recommended formation of a joint working group including NBTC, NITI and Chase India to approach the issue of blood holistically.