India, Aug. 6 -- KEM Hospital, Mumbai's largest civic-run hospital, has been turning away patients with haemophilia, as it has run out of drugs to treat the condition. Among them was a young woman who couldn't deliver her baby at the hospital, as it lacked Factor VII needed to arrest postpartum bleeding. The woman gave birth at Nanavati Hospital, a private hospital, on Thursday, after purchasing two vials of clotting factors, costing Rs.46,000 each.

The crisis at KEM's haemophilia department was triggered by a policy change, which saw the National Health Mission (NHM) halting funding to tertiary hospitals (Like KEM, those with medical colleges and other advanced facilities) in September last year. Since then, the central government has r...