Ludhiana: The Ludhiana Civil Hospital’s blood bank is under fire after revelations that it has been operating for the past three years without a valid licence and without a designated Blood Transfusion Officer (BTO) — both mandatory under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The lapse has sparked concerns over patient safety and administrative negligence.
Blood Bank Run by Pathologists Alone
In the absence of a qualified BTO, the facility is currently being managed by two pathologists. Experts warn that this is not just an administrative shortcoming but a direct risk to public health, since the BTO is legally responsible for ensuring safe collection, testing, storage, and distribution of blood. Their signature is mandatory on all grouping and cross-matching reports.
Licence Expired, Mobile Vans Non-Functional
Further compounding the crisis, the blood bank has been functioning without a valid licence for three years. Both mobile blood vans meant for donation camps are also lying non-functional—one due to registration issues and the other under repair—raising questions over the hospital administration’s seriousness towards safe blood collection.
Experts Flag Serious Risks
According to officials quoted in The Tribune India, the absence of a BTO undermines critical safety checks, including:
- Oversight of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs)
- Compatibility testing between donor and recipient blood
- Regulation of storage and distribution of blood components
Without these safeguards, the risks of contamination, mismatched transfusions, and untraceable donor records remain dangerously high.
Administration Admits Lapse, Promises Action
Civil Surgeon Dr. Ramandeep Kaur admitted that only pathologists had been appointed in the absence of a qualified BTO. She further clarified that there may not have been eligible applicants for the post. On the issue of compliance, she said:
“We are in the process of applying for licence renewal, which requires every employee to be registered online. One of our blood vans has registration issues, while the other is under repair but will soon be functional.”
