India set to integrate rare-blood donor registry with e-Rakt Kosh

22 Jun 2025 GS 3 Science & Technology
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Rare Blood Donor Registry Integration with e-Rakt Kosh 

  1. Initiative:

    • The Union Health Ministry plans to integrate the Rare Donor Registry of India (RDRI) with e-Rakt Kosh, a national blood bank management portal developed under the National Health Mission (NHM).

  2. Purpose of Integration:

    • To provide a centralised system for locating rare blood donors and managing blood availability.

    • It will help patients access blood banks and donors more efficiently, especially for ultra-rare blood types.

  3. Rare Blood Types Included:

    • Bombay Blood Group

    • P-Null

    • Rh-null

    • Also helps patients with multiple antigen-negative blood (e.g., thalassemia, sickle cell anemia).

  4. Developing Agency:

    • The ICMR-National Institute of Immunohaematology (NIIH) developed the registry with 4 partner institutions.

    • A database of 4,000 screened donors, tested for over 300 rare blood markers, has been created.

  5. Technological Innovations:

    • Development of a DNA-based multiplex PCR kit to identify rare blood types quickly.

    • Also developed a point-of-care (POC) diagnostic test for hemoglobinopathies (like thalassemia and sickle cell disease).

  6. Cost-saving Innovations:

    • The cost of sickle cell testing kits has been reduced from ₹350 to under ₹50 per test, saving the govt. around ₹1,857 crore.

    • Developed with help of Health Technology Assessments (HTA) by DHR, ICMR-CRMCH, and NIIH.

  7. Commercialisation:

    • The POC test for Hemophilia A and Von Willebrand Disease was commercialised in August 2023 by Bhat Biotech, Bengaluru under the brand name Bio-Scan.

  8. India's Global Standing:

    • India has around 1.4 lakh haemophilia patients, the second highest globally after Brazil.

    • The World Federation for Hemophilia is exploring procurement of Indian test kits for global use.

    • Haemophilia & Blood Clotting:

      • India has ~1.4 lakh haemophilia patients, second-highest globally after Brazil.

      • Haemophilia is a genetic disorder where blood doesn't clot properly due to a deficiency of clotting factors, especially Factor VIII (Haemophilia A) or Factor IX (Haemophilia B).

      • Leads to excessive bleeding even from minor injuries.

      • A new visual rapid card test for Haemophilia A and Von Willebrand Disease was developed.

      • Commercialised by Bhat Biotech (Bengaluru) as Bio-Scan (August 2023).

  9. Benefits of Integration:

    • Saves life, time, and costs in emergency transfusion scenarios.

    • Aims to ensure no life is lost due to lack of compatible blood.

  10. Platform Details – e-Rakt Kosh:

  • Developed by CDAC under NHM.

  • Provides real-time info on blood availability, donation camps, and blood banks across India.



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