Mumbai, August 31, 2026: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has temporarily suspended the blood bank licence of Jagjivan Ram Hospital, Mumbai Central, for two days — October 15 and 16 — after finding 12 regulatory violations, including deficiencies in blood donation records, shortage of prescribed staff, inadequate documentation and lapses in storage and operational procedures. The multi-specialty zonal hospital is run by the Western Railway (WR) zone of Indian Railways.
The temporary suspension order was issued on July 9, 2026, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945. The action followed an FDA inspection conducted on March 25, after which a show-cause notice was issued to the centre. The licensing authority later found its explanation unsatisfactory.
FDA Finds Multiple Violations
The inspection found that the apheresis donor form did not comply with prescribed guidelines, while updated copies of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Indian Pharmacopoeia were unavailable. Emergency medicines lacked proper indent or billing records, and calcium tablets were not available in the apheresis room despite the centre holding an apheresis licence.
The centre, which collects more than 5,000 blood units annually, had only two Blood Transfusion Officers and one Medical Social Worker against prescribed staffing requirements. The FDA also found missing temperature records for a quarantine refrigerator, an unauthenticated stock register, incomplete SOPs and inadequate follow-up records for sero-positive donors.
Centre Seeks Leniency
The blood centre later claimed that the deficiencies had been rectified and sought leniency, citing that it supplies around 15–20 blood bags daily free of cost to needy patients. However, the licensing authority held that violations existing on the date of inspection could not be regularised through subsequent corrective measures.
The FDA has directed the centre not to undertake any activity under the suspended licence during the two-day period and warned that violation of the order could invite legal action.
Western Railway Says Compliance Underway
When contacted, Vineet Abhishek, CPRO, Western Railway, said the WR had taken note of the Maharashtra FDA’s order regarding the licence of the Blood Centre at Jagjivan Ram Hospital, Mumbai Central. He said the observations primarily concerned documentation, staffing, SOPs and maintenance of prescribed records, and that corrective measures were being taken to ensure compliance.
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“Safety and quality of blood transfusion services remain our highest priority,” Abhishek said. He added that the FDA order did not state that the licence had been cancelled, nor did it report any contaminated or unsafe blood supply or adverse patient incident. “There is also a provision to appeal against the two-day symbolic suspension, and WR is exploring this option by submitting all compliance,” he said.
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