Nagpur’s government-run blood banks have failed to implement Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) technology for blood screening, more than a decade after the Central government made it mandatory, exposing a critical gap in the city’s public healthcare infrastructure.
NAT technology, which significantly reduces the window period for detecting infections like HIV and malaria in donated blood, was directed for adoption by the Centre in 2015. The per-unit signalling cost was estimated at Rs 6,50,000, but mandatory compliance was never enforced — and Nagpur’s blood banks have yet to make the transition.
Nagpur Medical College’s blood bank has received a formal notice over the lapse. Private sector medical directors and company officials have also flagged the issue, noting that daily blood collection at city facilities ranges between 11,000 and 14,000 units — all screened without the more sensitive NAT method.
Efforts to relocate blood bank operations to ground floor facilities — a prerequisite for the technology — have stalled, with three companies citing feasibility constraints. Cost remains the central barrier, with NAT testing estimated at over Rs 1 lakh per test, and no clarity on government funding.
Poor patients dependent on government hospitals for treatment of HIV and malaria remain the most vulnerable to the continued delay.
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