Department of Transfusion Medicine

The Blood Transfusion department is licensed by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and is a self-sufficient Blood Bank with facilities for complete donor screening, blood collection, component preparation and storage of blood / components under stringent quality control conditions. The department is committed to ensure availability of safe blood and components. Blood is collected only from voluntary non-remunerated replacement donors only.

Donor Screening is done by well trained staff, while donor privacy and confidentiality is maintained at all times. Latest techniques are used for immuno-haematological testing, for blood compatibility and for diagnosis.

Packed red cells, platelet concentrate and fresh frozen plasma are prepared using cryofuge, following strict quality controlled procedures. These are stored in refrigerators / deep freezers. Two automated blood cell separators from Haemonetics are available for single donor platelet collection, leucapheresis and stem cell harvesting.

Tests performed include

• Donor – Blood grouping (ABO & Rh), Rh phenotyping and Immune antibody screening.
• Patients – Grouping, antibody screening, antibody identification and extended antigen typing, if required.
• Cross matching
• Direct and Indirect Antiglobulin tests
• Coomb’s titre
• The Infectious Marker Laboratory, besides the five mandatory tests also performs testing of hepatitis B core antibody on all donated blood units and the units that are found positive are discarded.
• Latest fourth generation kits are used for ELISA testing.