New Delhi, March 11 -- New Delhi: The government has prepared fresh guidelines to promote voluntary and unpaid blood donations and improve the safety and efficacy of blood transfusion services in India.

The objective is to ensure that all clinical requirements of blood in the country are met only through voluntary blood donations, according to the guidelines developed by the Blood Transfusion Service Division of the Directorate General of Health Services in the ministry of health and family welfare and the National Blood Transfusion Council.

The guidelines discourage replacement blood donation by which donors are paid by the family of the recipient.

"This often involves coercion and/or payment, which compromises the safety of the blood...