The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has suspended the licence of the public-private-partnership blood bank at Mumbai’s Cooper Hospital for two days, forcing the hospital to rely on another facility while services remain halted until midnight on November 7.
The blood bank is operated by Samarprit Bahuddeshiya Sevabhavi Vikas Sanstha. Cooper Hospital authorities told the Times of India that the hospital would depend on the blood bank at Trauma Hospital in Jogeshwari for the next two to three days.
The suspension began on November 5, according to the report. The FDA action affects the PPP blood bank’s ability to provide services at the hospital during the suspension period. The report did not specify the number of patients or procedures expected to be affected, or whether emergency blood requirements would be met through a formal transfer arrangement.
FDA officials told the Times of India that the notice had been served 90 days earlier. One of the contraventions identified by the regulator was a lack of proper documentation. The report does not list the full set of findings in the notice or specify whether the operator has submitted corrective documents to the department.
The temporary closure places additional importance on the hospital’s arrangements with the Jogeshwari trauma facility. Blood banks are a critical part of hospital operations because access to compatible blood and blood components is required for emergency care, surgery and treatment of patients with significant blood loss. In this case, the hospital has identified an alternative source, but the report does not provide details of its capacity, transport arrangements or stock levels.
The action at Cooper follows regulatory intervention at two other major Mumbai hospitals. The FDA had taken action against blood banks at JJ Hospital and Nair Hospital the previous month. Their deans subsequently involved FDA minister Narhari Zirwal to secure a stay, according to the report.
That earlier action followed the participation of the two hospitals in a blood donation camp organised by a private group in April. The event was held to mark a corporate leader’s birthday, and watches were gifted to donors. The report links the FDA’s action to the hospitals’ participation in that camp, but does not state whether the regulatory concerns at JJ and Nair were identical to those identified at Cooper Hospital.
The Cooper suspension highlights the administrative requirements attached to blood-bank operations within public hospitals, including documentation and regulatory compliance. It also shows how a licensing action involving a PPP operator can immediately require a public hospital to shift reliance to another facility. The current suspension is scheduled to end at midnight on November 7, when services can resume according to the report.
