To get blood you must have doctor’s prescription and properly labeled blood sample in plain tube and EDTA tube. Get the sample to prathama blood centre and submit at cross match lab. Depending upon blood component you need it may take 45 minutes to 2 hours. You have to pay service charge as per the rate list. Rates may change without any updating on website. Blood can be sometimes in short supply and it is better to check with cross match lab before you visit with blood sample.
In a country where blood is very scarce resource and there are not enough voluntary blood donors, Prathama made it very simple to get blood. This is no wonder when you believe in voluntary non-remunerated blood donations. When you need blood, you call Prathama and book the needed component. If it is available it is given to you without asking for replacement at predefined testing charges. If you are a blood donor of Prathama or Drive Organiser, you can mention that while placing request. You should however send the person with Doctor’s prescription for specific component and blood sample of patient for cross match. Thus, blood banking simplified.
It takes about 1 ½ hour to cross match the blood sample and provide you with needed component. When you need more than 1 component it may take a little more time as various technical and medical precautions are taken before handing over the component to you.
Prathama administers only approved testing charges uniformly from all the patients/ hospitals in the city. The blood testing charges are controlled by government norms in India and no blood centre could charge beyond the approved cost norms. It could only recover the costs that it incurred during the blood banking process within these limits.
Prathama follows international quality standards in blood collection, processing and distribution. These activities involve high costs as most of the equipments, materials are imported for this purpose. It provides international quality blood products at 1/10 of international cost. For example in Europe it costs anywhere between € 80 to 300 for a blood product. The same quality products are provided by Prathama € 6 to 15 in India. Within this cost Prathama manages to provide possible subsidies & benefits to poor and needy patients.
Prathama offers the facility of sample pick up and delivery of components from distant hospitals. The patient need not come all the way to blood centre. A nominal charge is levied towards this service to accommodate the cost. With this the patient could get needed blood component without any hassle.
Prathama doesn’t accept replacement with the donors. Replacement donations are those donations where a patient brings a donor to donate blood with blood bank to get blood in addition to paying testing charges. This donor could be a paid or professional donor or some one close to the patient and intend to hide some facts from the medical examiner to procure blood component. With this the blood donation could become riskier. It is also highly unscientific and all developed countries have discontinued this practice. Prathama doesn’t encourage replacement donations at all.
