Nearly 100 blood banks across Maharashtra assisted by the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) are finding it difficult to conduct regular blood donation camps.
This is due to the withholding of funds controlled by the Maharashtra State Aids Control Society (MSACS) and released by the State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC).
While MSACS officials claimed that this was due to an internal conflict between the blood transfusion council and the Aids control society, Dattatray Shinde, consultant for blood banks from MSACS told DNA that the conflict between the two organisations has affected 97 blood banks assisted by Naco in Maharashtra.
NACO has been assisting blood banks by providing HIV testing kits and funding them to improve blood collection systems, as blood transfusion has been identified as one of the major causes of HIV
infection.
According to the head of Sassoon Hospital’s blood bank, Shankar Mugave, funds of nearly Rs2 crore have not been released by MSACS for the past one year.
Shinde said that Naco has withheld the funds as blood banks had failed to produce details of amount spent on blood donation camps and campaigns to encourage blood donation. “We have written to the SBTC, but so far, they have not responded,” he said.
Shinde alleged that the misappropriation of funds by blood banks has been noticed in the past and appropriate warnings have been issued. In this background, documentary evidence of funds spent on blood donation camps and campaigns have been sought, he said.
When contacted by DNA, SBTC officer Dr S Chaudhury refused to comment on the issue. “I am a temporary employee and cannot talk on this issue,” he said.
A senior official from the state health services said that blood banks have complained that they have not received funds to conduct camps and therefore this vital activity has been affected.
