Latest tech for testing donated blood in city
KOLKATA: The latest technology for screening donated blood is in town.
In fact, it’s a first not only for Kolkata, but for the entire eastern region. And, it is not a corporate hospital that has set this benchmark. The state-run Medical College and Hospital Calcutta (MCHC) is adopting the Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) technology to screen donated blood that will be used for transfusion to thalassaemia patients.
This initiative assumes importance as West Bengal accounts for the largest number of thalassaemic children in the country. As of now, donated blood in the state blood banks are screened by ELISA tests to detect HIV infection which is not foolproof. The NAT provides a highly sensitive detection of the genetic material of the virus itself and can accurately detect Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C apart from HIV.
A team from MCHC’s Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine (IMTM) brought in the technology after a 15-month nationwide study on the efficacy of NAT, which was concluded recently. The team screened 5,063 blood samples. The study suggested the traditional ELISA method could miss out detection of infection of one unit for every 631 units.
“Adopting the NAT method is the surest way of ensuring safest blood to the receiver. This technology is a boon, particularly for thalassaemia patients who undergo blood transfusions regularly. But this will also ensure safe blood to other patients who need transfusion,” said Dr Somnath Mukherjee, transfusion medicine expert at IHTM.
The study also evaluated the prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in 361 thalassaemia patients who had received 100 units of blood and above. These blood units had been screened by ELISA and had tested negative for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Out of the total 361 patients, 16 had contacted Hepatitis B, 34 Hepatitis C and 19 HIV during the repeated blood transfusions.
Every year, around 5,000 children in West Bengal are born thalassaemic. Currently, about 900 patients receive blood transfusion at IHTM. The NAT facility in this wing of MCHC was installed by Novartis for the study and the set-up will now be utilized for screening donated blood before it is transfused to thalassaemia patients.
“To start with, 130 thalassaemic children will get their blood screened through NAT. These children have been sponsored by ONGC Officers’ Mahila Samity. The set-up has more capacity. We could have reached out to more patients if funds weren’t a constraint,” said Dr Prantar Chakraborty, associate professor of hematology in MCHC, also a co-investigator in the study.
The cost of getting a NAT done costs Rs 800 compared to Rs 110 for an ELISA test. The cost of setting up a NAT facility works out to about Rs 70 lakh for a semi-automatic one and Rs 3 crore for a fully automatic one. Doctors said the cost of screening samples will ultimately decline if screening is done on a larger scale.
The Apollo Hospitals in Delhi and Chennai have had this facility for quite sometime now, but its Kolkata unit is yet to get this facility. Sources in MCHC say that if private hospitals in Kolkata want to send blood samples for screening, it could be worked out by some tie-up.
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