Telangana: Asian Blood Center booked for illegal processing, sale of Blood Components

Officials of the Drugs Control Administration (DCA) have conducted raid on Asian Blood Center at AS Rao Nagar X Roads in Medchal Malkajgiri district and seized illegally prepared blood components.

Asian Blood Center was permitted to collect, store, process and distribute ‘whole human blood only. However, the blood center is illegally preparing blood components such as Single Donor Platelets, packed RBC and Plasma etc.

Single donor platelets are prepared through a process called ‘Plateletpheresis’. Asian Blood Centre neither has the requisite technical capability nor the equipment such as an ‘apheresis machine’ or a ‘Blood Cell Separator’ to carry out the apheresis process, DCA Director General V B Kamalasan Reddy said.  

However, the Asian Blood Centre is illegally preparing blood components such as Packed RBC, Plasma and, supplying them to the patients.

Blood center technician J. Ravi Kumar revealed to the DCA officials that Single Donor Platelets are illegally procured from other blood banks and supplied to the patients in an unauthorized manner.

DCA officials seized blood components – two Packed RBC bags and one Plasma Bag along with account books, sales bill books of whole blood and blood components, blood requisition forms and labels of Single Donor Platelets from the premises of Asian Blood Center. Further investigation is underway.

The blood components prepared and supplied in an unauthorized manner may fail to meet the quality standards prescribed in the Drugs Rules. Such products may have serious implications on patients’ health, DCA director general said. Kamalasan Reddy appealed to the people to report any complaints about illegal activities related to medicines through the Drugs Control Administration, Telangana Toll-Free Number 1800-599-6969 between 10:30 am and 5:00 pm on all working days.