Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

They sell their blood for moolah

VIJAYAWADA: The element of nobility associated with blood donation may gradually wear off, thanks to emergence of a group of ‘professional’ blood donors in the city.

The demand for blood is high as the donated blood usually has a limited shelf life, and, hence, the need to attract regular donors is constant. Cashing in on this dire necessity, a few people have made selling of blood a business.

“Since most of the professional donors are impoverished or derelicts, they sell their blood for money and many a times, give more than they should. They may even conceal illnesses for obvious reasons,” says S. Madan Mohan, Chief Medical Officer of the Red Cross Rotary Blood Bank at Gandhinagar. The blood bank has stepped up vigil following detection of 15-odd such cases in the last three months. “It was co-incidence when we bumped into a few persons impersonating as friends or relatives of patients who were in need of blood. Elaborate enquiries to ascertain their health condition led to their actual identity,” explains Dr. Madan Mohan.

Once blood is donated and before it is transfused, it passes through more hands and undergoes more procedures than one realises. It may be sold at a profit and then resold at a larger profit. “Selling blood has unfortunately become a lucrative business and if not curbed, the situation can put many lives in jeopardy,” he warns.

The Red Cross Blood Bank has a long list of regular blood donors who turn up at regular intervals. They are well informed about the norms and, therefore, keep themselves in good health condition. Against the regular blood donors who mainly represent the student community, welfare organisations, charity institutions or a film actor’s fans’ association, the new breed comprises daily wage coolies, rickshaw-pullers and auto-rickshaw drivers. Many of them are drunkards, gutka-chewers and addicted to other vices.

Their network operates actively with the help of mediators who are in the know of their whereabouts round the clock. They are mostly found in the vicinity of the Government General Hospital, a few identified tea centres and auto-rickshaw stands. Mediators approach relatives of patients in need of blood and ‘strike a deal’ on behalf of the donors. “We exercise every care to ensure proper identity of the donor but the same thing cannot be said about commercial blood banks,” he points out, adding: “Most of them are unlettered and do not understand the high risk involved in it.”

Citing Chapter 15 of Section 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code, Dr. Madan Mohan says that in the event of an infection due to blood transfusion, the person or the blood bank concerned is liable for punishment. The local drug authorities and representatives of the AP State Aids Control Society and the National Aids Control Organisation must take a serious note of it and do the needful, he feels.

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