The Supreme Court refused to entertain a PIL seeking mandatory NAT testing in all blood banks, saying such medical decisions must be taken by experts, not courts. The petitioner NGO was asked to submit its representation to State and UT health authorities for consideration.
The Supreme Court of India on Friday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to make Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing (NAT) mandatory in all blood banks across the country. The plea had sought the implementation of advanced testing methods to ensure that blood supplied for transfusions is completely free from infections.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that courts should not attempt to decide highly technical medical issues that fall within the expertise of medical professionals and policymakers.
During the hearing, the Bench made it clear that questions relating to medical testing standards and public health policies must be examined by experts in the field rather than by the judiciary. The Court remarked,
“Do you think PILs are not funded from abroad. Do you think so?”
The PIL was filed by a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, Sarvesham Mangalam Foundation, which sought directions to make NAT testing compulsory in all blood banks in India to detect infections before blood transfusions.
However, the Court asked the petitioner to approach the appropriate authorities instead of seeking direct judicial intervention. The Bench directed the organisation to submit a detailed representation before the health secretaries of all States and Union Territories, who can then examine the matter with the help of medical experts.
The Court observed that public health policy decisions should be made after consulting domain specialists and considering the financial and administrative feasibility of such measures. The Chief Justice stated,
“We are definitely not experts on the subject… why should we pretend that we know medical science.”
The Bench further emphasised that determining which tests should be carried out in blood banks is a matter best left to scientific and medical authorities. In the absence of specialised knowledge on the issue, the Court said it could not issue directions of the nature sought in the petition.
The Court also noted that implementing mandatory NAT testing across the country would involve significant financial costs and that different States have different financial capacities. Because of these economic implications, the matter should first be evaluated by the concerned government departments and technical experts.
Earlier, on February 25, the Court had asked the petitioner to provide more detailed information about the proposed testing system. The Bench had sought data on the estimated cost of conducting NAT tests and whether government hospitals across India currently have the necessary facilities to carry out such testing.
During that hearing, the Court had asked advocate A. Velan, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner organisation, to clarify how much expenditure would be required to implement NAT testing nationwide. The Bench had also asked whether such facilities are currently available in government hospitals so that economically weaker patients can also benefit from the testing system.
The petition had made the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, along with all State governments and Union Territories, parties to the case.
In the PIL, the NGO argued that access to safe blood should be recognised as a fundamental right under the Constitution. It requested the Court to declare that the “Right to Safe Blood” is an intrinsic part of the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
The petition also sought directions to the Union and State governments to
“implement mandatory NAT in all blood banks across the territory of India for the detection of Transfusion Transmissible Infections (TTIs), including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), hepatitis C Virus (HCV), hepatitis B Virus (HBV), malaria, and syphilis, in the blood collected from all donors, to ensure the supply of safe and infection-free blood to all recipients.”
According to the petitioner organisation, there is a serious and continuing failure of authorities to fully protect vulnerable patients from life-threatening infections transmitted through blood transfusions. The NGO particularly highlighted the challenges faced by patients suffering from Thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder that requires frequent blood transfusions for survival.
Patients with Thalassemia often require blood transfusions every 15 to 20 days. Because of this regular dependence on donor blood, they face a higher risk of contracting infections if proper screening methods are not used.
The petition warned that for many patients in India, especially children suffering from Thalassemia, each transfusion has become a serious risk rather than a life-saving procedure. According to the NGO, in the absence of advanced testing systems, blood transfusions sometimes turn into a dangerous gamble with serious health consequences.
The PIL also referred to several recent incidents across the country that it described as preventable tragedies linked to unsafe blood transfusions.
It cited a case in Madhya Pradesh where, in 2025, at least six children suffering from Thalassemia reportedly tested HIV-positive after receiving blood transfusions at Satna District Hospital.
Similarly, in Jharkhand, five children were reportedly infected with HIV following blood transfusions at Sadar Hospital in Chaibasa in 2025.
The petition further mentioned an earlier incident in Uttar Pradesh where 14 children contracted hepatitis and HIV at a medical college in 2023 after receiving contaminated blood.
Highlighting the scale of the problem, the petition also noted that India has one of the largest populations of Thalassemia patients in the world. Because of this, the NGO argued that the country urgently needs stronger and more standardised blood screening systems.
Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder caused by the body’s inability to produce sufficient haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is the protein present in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body’s tissues and returns carbon dioxide back to the lungs.
Due to the seriousness of the disease and the dependence on repeated transfusions, the petition stressed the need for better safety protocols in blood banks across the country.
Despite these concerns, the Supreme Court ultimately declined to issue directions in the matter and advised the petitioner to raise the issue before the relevant government authorities, who can evaluate the proposal in consultation with medical experts and take appropriate policy decisions.
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