Latest news with #OperationBlood
NDTV
2 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
"Donor Not Required": Inside Madhya Pradesh's Blood Black Market
Bhopal: In a city where hospitals are built to heal and comfort, NDTV's Operation Blood reveals a disturbing truth - a thriving black market for blood, operating openly across government and private hospitals, cancer centres, and even India's top medical institution, AIIMS Bhopal. The sting, conducted over several weeks, uncovered how patients are forced into negotiations, backdoor deals, and illegal payments just to access something as basic - and life-saving - as a unit of blood. The investigation began at Hamidia Hospital, where blood was being sold in the name of "arrangements." No medical prescription, no scrutiny - just cash. At Jai Prakash Hospital, the transaction began even before entering the premises. In the parking lot, staff and auto drivers were well aware of where blood could be sourced - Red Cross or brokers. One parking attendant said it bluntly: "Inside, they ask for donors. Outside, they ask for money." Numbers were exchanged. Promises were made. But this wasn't a humanitarian gesture - it was part of an organised, informal network. At Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital, where patients battle terminal illnesses, blood was treated not as a necessity but as a commodity. A broker offered O-negative blood for Rs 4,050. "Donor charge is Rs 3,000, cross-matching Rs 1,050," he said, unapologetically. The deal was ready, and delivery could be arranged at Hamidia, Red Cross, or anywhere else. At Navodaya Cancer Hospital, which had earlier been linked to suspicious supply chains, the price list was just as clear: "Red Cross will give it for Rs 3,000. Maybe Rs 2,500 if you go direct," one staff member said. Whether inside the ward or outside the gate, life depended not on blood type but on bargaining skills. AIIMS, or the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, is often considered the last hope for many patients. But at AIIMS Bhopal, the investigation uncovered a blood market right outside its gates, where brokers, donors, and ambulance drivers operated openly. At a pan shop nearby, Raj and Vinod, both part of this illicit network, offered blood for Rs 2,000 - Rs 2,500; no questions asked, no ID, no verification. "Say I'm your uncle. I've done this before," one donor casually said. Ambulance drivers, meant to save lives, acted as middlemen: "You'll get it for money. I'll connect you," one driver said before passing on contact details of Bhupendra, a broker who quoted Rs 3,500 per unit. Outside one of India's most prestigious hospitals, blood was available faster than an ambulance - if you could pay. If hospitals weren't selling directly, private blood banks across the city were no better - from New Bhopal Blood Bank to Manas and Lifeline, the pattern was the same. At New Bhopal Blood Bank: "Donor? Not required. Just pay Rs 2,500." At Manas Blood Bank: "Rs 2,500 if no donor. We can't reduce the rate." At Lifeline Blood Bank, once the team asked for a discount, the worker, after a quick chat with the owner inside, responded, "Sir said no." In one case, even when our undercover team pretended to be hepatitis-positive, they were still offered blood - just pay Rs 2,500. The sting operation found that no patient's name, condition, or emergency mattered. All that mattered was the price. No receipt. No proper donor check. No registration. Just a fixed rate and a whispered transaction. What was supposed to be a regulated, humanitarian process had turned into a commercial chain, run by guards, drivers, brokers, and unbothered staff. NDTV's Operation Blood doesn't just expose a few rogue players, but rips the curtain off a systemic, deeply entrenched corruption where human blood, meant to be donated selflessly, is sold like a grocery item.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
"Action Will Be Taken": Officials After NDTV's Operation Blood Exposes Black Market
Bhopal: After NDTV's Operation Blood exposed an alarming black market in blood across several top hospitals and blood banks in Bhopal, senior ministers and health officials have responded with promises of strict action, detailed investigations, and policy reviews. The multi-institutional sting uncovered how blood, meant to be donated and distributed ethically, is being sold illegally through a widespread network of brokers, ambulance drivers, and blood bank staff. Madhya Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Public Health & Medical Education, Rajendra Shukla, condemned the irregularities exposed in the sting. "Whatever illegal work is done in such cases... when it is caught, strict action is taken. It is constantly said that such things should be avoided. But if someone still does it, they do it at their own risk - and action follows." Chief Medical and Health Officer of Bhopal, Dr Manish Sharma, acknowledged the gravity of the issue. "You have raised a very important issue. The way it has come to light, it appears to be a full-fledged network. We will order a thorough investigation. Smuggling of blood must be stopped. A team will be formed, and action will be taken. The needy should receive blood at the fixed government rate. You will see results soon," he said. The sting had previously shown how brokers operated in and around Hamidia Hospital. In response, Dr Sunit Tandon, the hospital superintendent, said, "This kind of case has come to my notice for the first time, and that too through your investigation. If anyone is found guilty, we will take appropriate and firm action." Perhaps the most concerning revelation came from Ruby Khan, Deputy Director of the State Blood Cell and part of the State Blood Transfusion Council, who admitted that inspections happen only during licensing renewals. When asked if there was routine monitoring, she said, "We do it only during license renewal. If there are complaints, we investigate." "We have not received any complaints so far. If you have found such irregularities, we are ready to look into them. People should not fall into such traps. The rate fixed by the government is 1,050. If anyone is charging more, that is wrong," she added. While the sting also exposed blood being sold outside AIIMS Bhopal, Dr Ajay Singh, the Director of AIIMS, insisted that the internal system was strict. "We have rigorous vigilance. 80% of our blood comes from voluntary donation. We never accept externally sourced blood for transfusion. If a patient needs it urgently, we arrange it through government channels. We maintain a strict environment and cross-check regular donors. AIIMS Bhopal does not compromise on this," he said. In response to being named in the investigation, Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital's Medical Superintendent, Dr Harmeet Kau,r said: "We have our own blood bank and provide blood only to our patients with proper prescriptions. We do not supply blood to outsiders. If anyone from our hospital is found involved in suspicious activity, we will take action. But normally, this doesn't happen here." With blood being sold for up to Rs 7,000 despite a government-fixed rate of Rs 1,050, and networks operating outside the gates of major institutions, the issue is no longer isolated - it's systemic. NDTV has shared its findings with state health authorities. The government's response now faces public scrutiny - not just to punish the guilty, but to reform the loophole-ridden blood distribution system, ensuring that life-saving blood doesn't come at a deadly price.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
Blood For Sale: NDTV's Operation Blood Exposes Black Market Outside Hospitals
Bhopal: Blood, the lifeline that saves millions every day, is being sold here, not donated, not prescribed, but priced, packaged, and pushed into the hands of desperate families. In an exclusive investigation, Operation Blood, NDTV uncovered a chilling truth: a black market for blood is flourishing outside some of Madhya Pradesh's top government hospitals. No questions about the relation. No questions about the religion. Only one question: "How much blood do you need - and how much can you pay?" This investigation, which will be followed by an exclusive sting operation, is not a charge sheet against doctors or hospitals. It's a mirror held up to the shadow network that exists just outside their gates - a network where auto drivers, security guards, parking attendants, and even pharmacy staff lead to one name again and again: Anees Bhai. Who is Anees Bhai? And how can this illegal blood trade exist just metres from institutions like Hamidia Hospital, AIIMS Bhopal, Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital, JP Hospital, Navodaya Cancer Hospital and over half a dozen blood banks? NDTV went in as undercover patients, their relatives carrying fake and incomplete prescriptions and found out that blood was offered without medical verification or ID. Ambulance drivers and parking lot workers casually connected us to "suppliers." Entire unofficial donor-broker networks operate just outside hospital premises. Several blood banks agreed to sell blood on dummy prescriptions - some even offering "discounts." And this is not a one-off incident. This network stretches across hospitals, from Hamidia Hospital to JP Hospital to AIIMS. A system running so efficiently that it feels almost institutional. Outside Navodaya Cancer Hospital, where families arrive with their last hope, we were offered blood with zero checks. A few names came up repeatedly. At JP Hospital, we didn't need to step inside. From the parking area itself, a line of contacts and brokers emerged, ready to arrange blood. No slip. No diagnosis. Just the right amount of cash. This is not a crime of silence - it is a business of neglect. A parallel blood economy is thriving under the nose of the state's healthcare system. This is not an indictment of doctors or hospitals, but a question: when something as sacred as blood is being sold like a commodity in open daylight, what is the system doing? This is not the final part of Operation Blood - it is only the biggest mirror yet.
