New Delhi: The Union health ministry has issued a series of precautionary measures for blood banks in light of the Covid-19 pandemic even as it noted that there is no evidence to believe the novel coronavirus can spread through blood transfusions.
The advisory came amid fears among donors that they could contract coronavirus in the process, as acknowledged by the ministry at its daily press briefing Friday.
“We have issued a set of guidelines from the ministry on how blood banks should operate during this time,” Joint Secretary, Health, Lav Agarwal said, adding that there were patients who continued to need life-saving transfusions of blood and its other components.
These include patients of thalassemia, accident victims, and pregnant women.
In the advisory, the ministry states that blood collection and voluntary blood donation need to be continued judiciously during this period to meet the requirements.
Also Read: MP’s growing Covid-19 crisis: Cases rising, govt paralysed after top officials test positive
‘Avoid donors at high Covid-19 risk’
Coronavirus transmission has so far been known to occur only through the droplets humans release when they sneeze or cough.
Even as it maintained that “there remains no precedent for the occurrence of transfusion-transmitted respiratory viruses”, the ministry has recommended not collecting blood from donors who may be at high risk of Covid-19.
These include people who have travelled to countries where the disease is widespread or who have come in contact with a Covid-19 patient in the last 28 days.
The ministry has also recommended that the couches where donors lie at blood banks be placed one metre apart, and that workers ensure social distancing on the premises.
Blood banks should also ensure safe disposal of gloves, masks, caps and other soiled items, as well as adopt infection-control measures consistent with national and state guidelines for Covid-19.
Healthy donors should be engaged, and, wherever possible, regular volunteers encouraged to make donations at convenient sites.
The advisory states that in-house as well as outreach voluntary blood donation camps may continue to be organised as usual, with appropriate precautionary measures.
The ministry notes that the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), the US Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Disease Control had not recommended any additional action by blood collection establishments at this time since respiratory viruses were generally not known to be transmitted by blood transfusion.
The ministry will continue to monitor the situation actively, and revise the guidelines, if needed.
Also Read: This 56-year-old IAS officer is the brain behind Bhilwara model of fighting Covid-19
When there is viremia and a published study from China shows evidence of viruses in blood of Donors.
In most likelyhood it might be transmitted by blood, especially platelets.