Blood centres allowed in-house collection: State informs HC
Times of India | 8 August 2026
Kolkata: The 11 blood centres directed to stop “outside voluntary blood donation (VBD) camps” by Swasthya Bhawan over an “ongoing investigation” were permitted to continue their “in-house collection of blood”, the state told Calcutta High Court on Friday after one of the affected blood centres challenged the July 31 order.
The state was directed to submit a report on the status of the probe by Aug 14 and the matter will be heard on Aug 19.
Life Care Medical Foundation had approached the single bench of Justice Krishna Rao after their blood centre — Life Care Blood Centre on Linton Street — appeared on the list of centres directed to stop the outdoor blood donation camps.
Foundation’s counsel Biswaroop Bhattacharyya challenged the order of July 31 wherein the joint director (State Blood Transfusion Council & Blood Transfusion Services) (SBTC&BTS), Swasthya Bhawan directed it to stop their outside VBD camps on and from Aug 1, 2026 till the ongoing probe by SBTC is over.
Bhattacharyya questioned the jurisdiction of the investigator, submitting that the joint director is “not the statutory authority or licensing authority.” When 10 days were sought by the state to file the report, Bhattacharyya urged it to be filed faster as the blood banks will be closed and people will suffer.
Senior advocate Pijush Chaturvedi, for the state, submitted that the direction is only to stop outdoor voluntary blood donation and does not affect the in-house collection.