VIsakhapatnam: The Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohematology (ISBTI) has thrown light on various new modalities in blood banking during a national conference – Transcon 2018-held in the city on Saturday.
Experts suggested applying modern protocols during organ transplantation to prevent loss of blood.
Focusing on the latest cost-effective blood tests, Bangalore Medical Services Trust (BMST) medical director
Dr Latha Jagannathan said: “Several tests are required before transplanting human organs. If the foreign body antigens do not match, rejection takes place. Pre-found antibodies may stop the transplantation unless there is a match to the immune system.”
Earlier, serological techniques of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) typing were used to match patients and donors for bone marrow transplants. The usage of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology is now rapidly increasing with the demand for high-throughput diagnostic tools and enhanced accuracy.
According to ISBTI State Chapter general secretary Dr. A. Yashovardhan, it takes around four hours to complete 96 tests as part of ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) diagnostic test which is mandatory on donated blood. In the place of Elisa test, many countries are now using Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (CLIA) test that can be done in 30 minutes.
“Though CLIA test was introduced more than five years ago, we are still using ELISA test. A lot of awareness on latest techniques is needed among the healthcare professionals. At the same time, the new technology involves huge money and standardised training. We are trying to bring benchmark process in consonance with the revised regulations,” he said. Only living-donor transplantations are happening in the country as the government has banned organ donation from other than blood relations and emotionally attached persons. However, some people are still misusing the laws for paid organs.
National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) was set up to certify healthcare organisations, including blood banks. It has recognised only one blood bank in the state while Maharashtra has 22 accredited blood banks.
NABH assistant director Y. Bindu Madhav said: “No blood storage centre has been accredited in the country so far. We have recently received an application from one centre in Pune for the first time. The application is still under review.”
Out of the 119 applications from the blood banks, 91 were accredited by the NABH. Nine blood banks have voluntarily withdrawn their applications. The rest of the blood banks in the country have not yet approached the accrediting authority.
