PATNA, Dec. 13 -- Drug inspectors in Bihar have been directed to verify the free supply of blood to patients with thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, during inspections of blood centres, officials in the state health department said on Saturday.

The instruction was issued by state drug controller Nityanand Kishloya following a meeting with in-charges of blood centres in Patna on Friday, said people familiar with the matter.

The move came after a request from Dr Anuradha Singh, nodal officer of the thalassemia day-care centre at Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), a century-old oldest state-run medical college in Bihar, seeking the drug controller's intervention to ensure a regular, free supply of blood for thalassemia patients....