Overcharging complaints are not new to Maharastra The State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) regarding blood banks. With taking action on the overcharging issues, Transfusion Council sent notices to around 25 blood banks in the Mumbai for overcharging. Notices warned blood banks for overcharging different amounts of blood bags, fresh frozen plasma (FFP), platelets, and cryoprecipitate, which includes public, private and charitable hospitals.
Applicant Chetan Kothari sent an application to Right To Information (RTI) to get notice details and it will be made public once he received copies from RTI office. Chetan had also written regarding the lack of blood banks details display on the SBTC website to the state information commission (SIC). RTI activist Chetan Kothari also said that many blood banks were found overcharging previously, but they were warned and let off but still, they repeated the violation. To provide transparency, SBTC needs to display it on the website too.
Lack of awareness is the major reason behind their overcharging. They are charging whole blood by ₹ 1,500 to ₹ 3,300 which costs only ₹ 1,450 as per Indian government and FFP cost ₹ 400 which were overcharged by ₹ 480 to ₹ 850; platelet cost ₹ 400 which were overcharged by and cryoprecipitate cost ₹ 250 overcharged by ₹ 390 to ₹ 700.
Officials from the SBTC refused to comment on the overcharging issues at blood banks in the Mumbai city.
