Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: In Focus by The Hindu
Episode: Blood safety in India: What are the issues and how can they be resolved?
Description: Last month, a tragic incident took place in Jharkhand. Five children with thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder contracted HIV, following a blood transfusion. Initial investigations revealed that the blood they were given, was contaminated. While the Jharkhand government swung into action, suspending officials and announcing compensations – the fact remains that the blood that the children were given from a blood bank was unsafe. Blood is a critical compound – it is used across thousands of hospitals every day and there are regulations in place with regard to testing protocols to ensure that infected blood is not given to any patient. So w...