Sale Of Blood In India And Its Illegal Dimension

KEYTAKEAWAYS

• A blood donation occurs when a person gives their consent to have their blood collected and utilized for transfusions. Such Donations are usually done in blood banks.
• But the recent trend shows a hike in the black markets of blood.
• The sale or Purchase of Human organs, including blood and components like plasma, is prohibited by law, and such trade can lead to imprisonment of two to seven years and a fine of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.
• No blood can be sold or bought, according to WHO regulations (REDCROSS). Though, on humanitarian grounds, it can be donated.

INTRODUCTION

Blood, platelets, and plasma cannot be made artificially, hence there are no replacements. Patients who require blood or blood products rely on the generosity of people like you. Those who are nervous about giving blood for the first time frequently discover that the process is simple and that saving lives is extremely rewarding. A single donation can save many lives. The following are the facts:

• A single donation can potentially save three lives.
• The typical transfusion of red blood cells is 3 quarts (or 3 whole-blood donations).
• Every year, about one million people are diagnosed with cancer for the first time. During chemotherapy, many of them require blood, possibly daily.
• Every day, around 38,000 blood donations are required.
• Type O-negative whole blood can be transfused to patients of any blood type, although it is an uncommon blood type with limited resources.
• Patients with all other blood types can receive Type AB plasma, but it's also in short supply.
• Only 2% of the population is qualified to donate blood, despite the fact that 38% of the population is eligible.

What is blood donation

A blood donation occurs when a person gives their consent to have their blood collected and utilized for transfusions or fractionated into biopharmaceutical drugs (separation of whole-blood components). Donation of entire blood or specific components is possible (apheresis). Blood banks are frequently involved in both the collection and the processes that follow it.

There are other reasons why blood donation is crucial, in addition to saving lives.

• Blood cannot be produced. Blood cannot be manufactured, despite medical and technical breakthroughs, therefore donations are the only way we can help individuals who need it.
• Donation of blood can only be done by selected people. In our country, only 37 percent of the population can donate blood.
• Platelet donation (plateletpheresis) gathers just platelets, which clump together and form plugs (clots) in blood vessels to help stop bleeding.

Types of blood donations

• People with clotting issues or cancer, as well as those undergoing organ transplants or significant procedures, are frequently given donated platelets.
• Donating a concentrated amount of red blood cells is possible with double red cell donation. Your organs and tissues receive oxygen from red blood cells.
• People with extreme blood loss, such as after an injury or accident, and people with sickle cell anemia are usually given donated red blood cells.
• Plasma donation (plasmapheresis) is the collection of the blood's liquid component (plasma). Plasma aids in blood clotting and contains antibodies that aid in the fight against infection.

What is “Red Market”

Although it is illegal to sell blood or pay donors in India, a massive "red market" exists throughout the country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India has a chronic shortage of blood, despite the fact that every country is required to have a 1% reserve. With a population of 1.2 billion, India requires 12 million units of blood each year but barely collects 9 million, a 25% shortfall. The gap typically reaches 50% in the summer, prompting a surge in professional donors eager to meet the demands of desperate patients.

Experts say the shortfall is partly due to India's absence of a national blood collection agency, as well as taboos against blood exchange between people of various castes. Despite a 1996 Supreme Court order prohibiting paid donors and unregulated blood banks, it drives a massive clandestine market. Blood trafficking has merely shifted underground, or into the realms of the macabre in some situations.

There are no official figures on the size of India's illegal blood market or the number of such farms that have been discovered. Professional donors are tolerated by many legal, accredited blood banks, according to experts, who do not always pay for blood. Nonetheless, the addition of the word 'voluntary' before the word 'contribution' remains a contentious issue. Donors, receivers, and organizers in such cases are more likely to overlook some important legal aspects of blood donation or collection by following the guidelines outlined in Part XIIB of the Drug and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. Blood donation, as its literal meaning implies, must not be a donation for consideration from the start. It is commonly known that private (voluntary) blood donation accounts for less than half of all blood transfusions in the country. It means that commercial contributors cover the majority of the need, with only a small percentage coming from known, close relatives of the recipients.

DRUGS AND COSMETICS RULES, 1945

The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1940 are the regulations enacted by the Indian government in response to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.The Medications and Cosmetics Rules of 1945 contain provisions for the classification of drugs into schedules, as well as requirements for their storage, sale, exhibition, and prescription. The license conditions are detailed in Rule 67. The labeling restrictions are found in Rule 97.

From collection to maintenance and dispensation, the major areas for building up and maintaining a blood bank include equipment, testing, record keeping, and trained employees. The following are exceptions from the Rules concerning blood donation and collection:

• A person may not donate blood or have blood drawn from them more than once every three months. The donor must be in good health, cognitively attentive, and physically fit, and he or she must not be incarcerated, have several sex partners, or be a drug addict.

REQUIREMENTS TO FULFIL WHILE DONATING BLOOD

1. the donor must be between the ages of 18 and 65;
2. the donor must weigh at least 45 kilograms;
3. the donor's temperature and pulse must be normal;
4. d) the donor's systolic and diastolic blood pressure must be within normal limits without medication;
5. the donor's hemoglobin must be at least 12.5 grams.;
6. the donor must be free of acute respiratory diseases;
7. The donor's elbows and forearms must be devoid of skin punctures or scars that indicate professional blood donors or self-injecting narcotics addiction.

No one shall donate blood, and no blood bank shall draw blood from anyone who is afflicted with any of the disorders listed below:

(a) Cancer

(b) Liver Diseases

(c) Cardiovascular Diseases

(d) Tuberculosis

(e) Polycythemia Vera

(f) Abnormal bleeding tendency

(g) Weight loss that isn't explained

(h) Asthma

(i) Insulin-dependent diabetes

(j) Epilepsy

(k) Infection with hepatitis

(l) Leprosy

(m) Nephrotic syndrome

(n) Schizophrenia

(o) AIDS-related signs and symptoms

(p) Endocrine dysfunction

The Supreme Court of India established short and long-term norms and procedures for blood donation in the case of Common Cause vs. Union of India and Ors. [Writ Petition (civil) 91 of 1992],for ensuring that commercial blood donation is abolished from the country.

Medications and Cosmetics Rules of 1945 are widely regarded as the gold standard for establishing Blood Donation Camps and Blood Banks, as well as performing Voluntary Blood Donations.

CONCLUSION

Most blood donors nowadays in the industrialized world are unpaid volunteers who donate blood for a communal supply. Established supplies are low in some nations; thus, volunteers usually donate blood when family or friends require a transfusion (directed donation). Many people donate blood for a variety of reasons, including charity, general knowledge of the need for blood, greater self-confidence, aiding a friend or relative, and societal pressure. Despite the myriad reasons why people donate, there aren't enough active donors. In recent times, the black market promoting the illegal sale of blood and its components has increased. There is a need to understand the situation and implement the needed laws, and actions. Thus, the situation needs to be controlled.