e‑Rakt Kosh

GS III – Health

What Is e‑Rakt Kosh?

• e‑Rakt Kosh is India’s centralized blood-bank management system, launched on 7 April 2016 by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

• It operates under the Drug & Cosmetic Act and the National Blood Policy, aiming to ensure safe, timely, and adequate blood supply nationwide

Objectives and Need

Key objectives include:

• Ensuring safe and adequate blood supply

• Efficient inventory management across all blood banks

• Reducing waste through streamlined tracking

• Preventing unregulated donation (e.g., professional donors)

• Creating a donor repository, including rare blood groups

• Ensuring faster turnaround time for blood requisitions

Salient Features & Modules

Modular, scalable IT platform with these major components :

1. Biometric Donor Management — tracks donor health and blocks ineligible donors

2. Blood Grouping & TTI Screening — integration with medical equipment

3. Centralized Inventory — real-time stock across banks

4. Biomedical Waste Management

5. Rare Blood Group Registry

6. Alerts & Notifications — for blood expiry, urgent needs, donation drives

7. Additional modules: billing, donor camps, HR, reporting, quality control

 Citizen Interface

• Offers a public portal and mobile app to:

  • Check nearest blood bank

  • View real-time availability of blood groups

  • Find upcoming blood donation camps

• Enhances transparency and ease of access for urgent needs

 Latest Developments & Impact

a) State Integration (Maharashtra, 2025)

• March 2025: Maharashtra linked all ~395 state blood banks to e‑Rakt Kosh.

• This integration allows patients and doctors to check real-time stock via mobile—critical for diseases requiring frequent transfusions (thalassemia, hemophilia)

b) Regulatory Directive (DCGI/CDSCO)

• 2022–24: DCGI/CDSCO issued repeated directives (June 2022) requiring all licensed blood banks to register on e‑Rakt Kosh and update daily stock/donor data

• Ensures nationwide compliance and improves blood supply tracking.

c) Mega Donation Drives

• September 2022: Under “Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav”, over 1.95 lakh donors registered via e‑Rakt Kosh during a one-day drive; 87,000+ donations recorded

• Platform plays a key role in supporting large-scale national awareness campaigns.