Thalassemia groups urge swift passage of National Blood Transfusion Bill

Thalassemia patient groups have welcomed the introduction of the National Blood Transfusion Bill, 2025, calling it a crucial step toward safer and regulated blood services. They urged Parliament to pass the legislation swiftly to improve safety, accountability and patient outcomes nationwide

New Delhi: Thalassemia patients on Friday hailed the introduction of the National Blood Transfusion Bill in Parliament and urged members to pass the life-saving bill at the earliest.

Earlier this month, during the Winter session of the Parliament, the National Blood Transfusion Bill, 2025, was proposed by MP Parshottambhai Rupala in Lok Sabha and by Dr Ajeet Madhavrao Gopchade in Rajya Sabha.

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The Bill aims to regulate the collection, testing, processing, storage, distribution, issuance, and transfusion of human blood and blood components, to ensure health protection and prevention of transfusion-transmissible diseases. It also calls for establishing national standards for safe blood collection, transfusion, and management and imposing penalties for non-compliance and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The main objective is to establish a National Blood Transfusion Authority with statutory powers to prescribe national standards for blood collection, processing, storage, and transfusion.

“For India’s thalassaemia community, which depends on safe, uninterrupted, and quality-assured blood transfusions for survival, this legislation marks a historic and long-awaited step forward,” said the Thalassaemia Patients Advocacy Group (TPAG).

“It reflects a coherent and serious parliamentary commitment to reforming one of India’s most under-regulated yet critical public health areas,” TPAG said, while urging the MPs to immediately pass the Bill.

For lakhs of patients who rely on blood as their lifeline, this reform offers hope for a safer, more accountable, and more efficient blood ecosystem. A unified national framework will play a pivotal role in strengthening safety, quality assurance, accountability, and public trust.

“Strengthening the governance of blood transfusion services is essential for ensuring safety and public trust. I hope the proposed bill provides a much-needed, science-based framework to streamline standards and improve patient outcomes,” said Prof N K Ganguly, former Director General, ICMR.

Anubha Taneja Mukherjee, Member Secretary of TPAG, noted that the advocacy group will submit detailed comments on the Bill, and strongly urged for the inclusion of patient representation in any body constituted under this framework.

The Federation of Indian Blood Donors Organizations (FIBDO) also commended the efforts made by the MPs to propose the critical Bill in the Parliament.

“We call upon all parliamentarians to unite in passing this bill, which holds the promise of saving countless lives and fortifying the very foundation of India’s healthcare system,” the FIBDO said in a statement.