Acknowledging the significance of Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) to ensure blood safety for patients especially those suffering from Thalassemia and Sickle Cell, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (NSCB) Medical College Hospital has sent a proposal to the State Government to initiate NAT facility at Jabalpur. The health experts across the country are now demanding the universal implementation of Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT). As unlike standard tests, NAT hunts for the virus’s actual genetic material, slashing the detection window for HIV and Hepatitis C from weeks to mere days. Meanwhile, NAT testing facility is available only at a few Government-run medical colleges in the State, including Indore, Bhopal and Gwalior that too on contract basis. As on majority basis, pathologists still undergo ELISA testing, Rapid Test and CLIA to assure blood safety. NAT is voluntary and often used only in advanced centers. Hence, the authorities in NSCBMCH have sent the proposal to the State Government to initiate NAT facility either by installing the machine or on contract-basis.

 

Despite Government mandates for free blood, ‘negative’ blood groups remain dangerously scarce, forcing parents to travel long distance or turn to private, paid donors. Former Incharge, Central Blood Bank, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College Hospital, Dr Shishir Chanpuria stated that for patients with Thalassemia, blood safety isn’t just a standard procedure, it’s a lifeline. As Thalassemia requires lifelong, frequent transfusions (often every 2–4 weeks), these patients face a much higher cumulative risk of complications compared to the general population. The trust between patients and healthcare system was shattered earlier this year, when an investigation was launched at Satna (MP) after six children, already battling the exhaustion of Thalassemia, contracted HIV following routine transfusions. “Traditional serology tests look for antibodies, which can take weeks to appear after an infection. For a child receiving blood every 14 to 21 days, that gap is a death trap. As even a 1-in-1,000,000 risk per unit becomes a statistical certainty of infection over time. NAT narrows the window period significantly, nearly eliminating the risk of Transfusion-Transmitted Infections (TTIs)”, concluded Dr Chanpuria.