Selling blood is a crime punishable up to 2 years in prison. Blood can only be donated but not sold in India.
An incident came into limelight at Saket Max hospital, Delhi last month, when a doctor advised transfusion of plasma from a recovered patient. The incident occurred when Kanu Priya Mal fathers health begin to deteriorate.
At that time, the doctor advised them to find a recovered patients plasma blood, which contains antibodies from the virus and could potentially help him to beat the illness. The family got extremely emotional to know about the health of their father and started searching for a donor.
As per sources, the family spent around 2 to 3 days to search for a potential donors. So, Kanu’s husband Advitya told in an interview, “A donor who volunteered to donate plasma, despite he was not well, spent his own money to get a blood test, paid himself for transport and yet refused to take any money from us. He genuinely helped us and we are extremely thankful to him for such a noble cause.”
He further added on the other side there were people who were demanding 25,000 to 30,000 rupees and said to transfer the money first and they will come the next day to donate their plasma. He stated that “He couldn’t blame them as hard as they are going everywhere and everybody is sailing in the same boat.”
Like Mal, many have been confronted with high charges for plasma. Recently, a leading daily reported that in Mumbai, one of the plasma bank is charging Rs 20,000 for the supply of 200 ml of plasma to critically ill patients. There is a legal provision under the national blood policy of 2007 that you cannot charge someone for blood donations,” says lawyer Madhav chandavarkar.
Even it is quoted under section 27 and section 18 that any person profiteering from blood transfusion has to face jail for up to 2 years because blood is classified as a drug under Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Blood can only be donated in India and not sold.
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