Kolkata, August 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The West Bengal Health Department has decided to inspect private blood banks across the state amid reports of alleged black-marketing of blood and plasma, officials said on Wednesday.
The inspections will focus on whether private blood banks have adequate facilities to screen and preserve collected blood and whether their infrastructure is sufficient for the quantity of blood collected through frequent donation camps.
The move follows the department’s discovery of a case involving a private blood bank in Beliaghata, central-east Kolkata, which reportedly organised 35 blood donation camps on a single day and collected 1,600 units of blood.
A health department official said an inspection of the facility found that it did not have the required infrastructure either to screen the collected blood or to preserve such a large quantity. The department has raised questions over the subsequent whereabouts of the blood and said the possibility of its being sold at premium prices outside the authorised system could not be ruled out.
The inquiry also allegedly uncovered another violation. According to the health department, medical students from a particular state-run medical college and hospital were engaged instead of qualified doctors to examine donors at the camps. Officials said this was contrary to prescribed rules governing blood donation camps.
Health Minister Dr Saradwat Mukherjee said collecting blood beyond a facility’s capacity could compromise proper examination of the collected units and also result in wastage.
“A detailed investigation on this menace is on. Whoever is behind such rackets will be identified and booked per the legal system,” he said.
The development comes shortly after the West Bengal Police’s anti-corruption wing arrested three laboratory technicians attached to the state-run Panskura Super Speciality Hospital in East Midnapore district on Tuesday for alleged black-marketing of blood.
Earlier this month, the Calcutta High Court directed the Health Department to complete its ongoing investigation against 11 private blood banks accused of serious irregularities, including allegedly selling blood and plasma to other states.
The Health Department had barred the 11 private blood banks from organising blood donation camps anywhere in West Bengal until further orders. One of the affected blood banks challenged the order before the Calcutta High Court.
Justice Krishna Rao, while hearing the matter, did not interfere with the ongoing investigation but prescribed a timeline for the Health Department to complete its probe.
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