In News:

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is set to integrate India’s Rare Donor Registry with e-Rakt Kosh, a centralized national blood bank management platform under the National Health Mission (NHM). This move aims to improve access to rare blood types, enhance donor coordination, and save lives by ensuring timely availability of rare blood groups.

About the Integration

• e-Rakt Kosh: A digital platform developed under NHM for real-time information on blood availability, donation camps, and blood bank locations.
• Rare Donor Registry of India (RDRI): Developed by the ICMR–National Institute of Immunohaematology (NIIH) with four partner institutes. Maintains a database of 4,000 carefully screened rare blood donors, tested for over 300 rare blood markers.
• Objective: To provide a centralized, accessible system for patients needing rare blood and to assist blood banks in managing inventory and donors efficiently.

Key Features and Benefits

• Life-saving Access: Enables patients and hospitals to locate rare blood types like Bombay blood group, Rh-null, and P-null efficiently.
• Safe Transfusions: Helps match blood for patients with multiple antigen deficiencies, common in disorders like thalassemia and sickle cell disease, thus reducing transfusion complications.
• Technological Advancements:
  • Use of Multiplex PCR-based DNA testing for rapid identification of rare blood groups.
  • Development of a customized blood screening kit tailored for Indian patients.
• Donor Engagement: Aims to ensure a steady, motivated pool of rare blood donors who remain connected to blood banks.

ICMR’s Parallel Work on Hemoglobinopathies and Rare Diseases

• Point-of-Care (POC) Tests Developed For:
  • Sickle Cell Disease
  • Hemophilia A
  • Von Willebrand Disease
• Impact of Innovation:
  • Sickle Cell Test Kits cost reduced from ?350 to under ?50 per test through Health Technology Assessment (HTA) led by DHR, ICMR–CRMCH, and NIIH.
  • Estimated savings: ?1,857 crore for the government.
  • New rapid testing device enables diagnosis even at PHC level.
• International Interest: World Federation for Hemophilia has shown interest in procuring India-developed diagnostic kits for global deployment.
• Commercialization: Technology transferred to Bhat Biotech, which launched the product under the brand Bio-Scan in August 2023.

Significance

• Enhances India’s healthcare infrastructure and emergency response for rare blood groups.
• Aligns with the goals of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Atmanirbhar Bharat in the field of indigenous diagnostics.
• Showcases India’s growing biotech innovation ecosystem with both national and international relevance.