Haemovigilance in India during the COVID-19 pandemic

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 128 countries have a national health surveillance system for the appropriate clinical use of blood, of which 32 countries are in the African region (74% of reporting countries), 23 are in the Americas (70%), 12 are in the Eastern Mediterranean (67%), 33 are in Europe (80%), nine are in South East Asia (90%), and 19 are in the Western Pacific (76%) [7]. According to the Chinese Haemovigilance Network, founded in August 2017, the adverse reaction rate associated with blood transfusions in 2019 was 0.2%. The second stage between the years 2013-2015 was for the expansion and consolidation where the focus was on training the staff, getting membership of the International Haemovigilance Network (IHN) and, simultaneously, conducting more zonal workshops, publishing newsletters, enrolling new members and data collection. The detail objectives of HvPI include (i) monitoring Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) and the risk-benefit ratio of medications in the Indian population, (ii) educating healthcare professionals about best practices for Haemovigilance and raising awareness of the programme, (iii) keeping stakeholders up to date on the latest findings, (iv) assisting the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in formulating safety-related regulatory decisions for medicines, (v) offering independent, evidence-based approvals regarding the efficacy of medications, (vi) establishing a national centre of excellence that meets international standards for drug safety monitoring, (vii) creating a platform for communication and knowledge exchange via the International Healthcare Network (IHN) and are summarized in Figure 3.