Evaluation of Internal Quality Control Practices in a Blood Center Affiliated to a Tertiary Care Hospital: Compliance with WHO and NACO Standards

Background: Blood transfusion is indispensable in trauma, surgery, cancer therapy, and anemia management. Because transfusion carries the risk of infection and immune reaction, blood banks must maintain strict quality control (QC). Objective: To evaluate the quality control performance of a tertiary care blood bank and determine its compliance with World Health Organization (WHO) and National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) standards. Methods: A one-year observational study was performed at the Blood Bank, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital. Data were collected from donor screening, component preparation, infectious-disease testing, storage, equipment monitoring, and transfusion-reaction surveillance. QC was assessed according to NACO (GSR 166-E, 11-03-2020) domains: infrastructure, donor screening, post-phlebotomy, test processing, bag quality, bag thawing, and discard. Results: During the three - month study period, 250 donors were screened, of whom 5 (2%) were deferred based on NACO donor selection criteria. A total of 245 blood units were collected and processed into blood components. One hundred quality control (QC) samples comprising packed red blood cells (PRBCs), random donor platelets (RDPs), and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) were evaluated. Serological screening revealed HBsAg positivity of 2.3%, HCV positivity of 0.7%, syphilis positivity of 0.3%, and no HIV-reactive donations. Among the QC samples, 98% of PRBCs, RDPs, and FFPs complied with WHO/NACO quality standards. Storage temperatures remained within recommended limits, all equipment passed scheduled calibration, and only mild transfusion reactions (2%) were observed. Conclusion: Comprehensive QC practices in this blood bank achieved 97.5 percent compliance with WHO/NACO requirements. Effective infrastructure, donor screening, and component monitoring ensure high product quality and safe transfusion outcomes.