The family of a patient admitted to a government-run medical college hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa has alleged that the blood bank staff refused to accept blood from an acquaintance of theirs, who belonged to the Brahmin community, asking them to arrange a donor from their own caste. The patient belongs to the Vaishya community.
The alleged incident took place on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) at the government-run Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital under the Shyam Shah Medical College in Rewa.
The hospital administration has, however, denied the charges, saying that two potential donors brought by the family had been rejected due to their medical conditions.
Baijnath Vaishya, uncle of the girl patient, said that he had called a friend of his, Jitendra Pandey, to donate the blood after the doctors refused to take blood from a family member who is under 17 years of age. The patient hails from Sidhi district.
“When we took him to the blood bank, the doctor there asked him where he had come from and said that ‘you are a Pandey and she [the patient] is a Vaishya, it won’t work’. He asked us to bring a relative or someone from our own caste or get a written permission from our doctor,” Mr. Vaishya said.
He further alleged that the doctor treating his niece had earlier said that they could give blood of any group to the blood bank and get the matching blood for the patient.
“But when we went to him again, he asked us to arrange matching blood. Now, they are also not letting us through the gate,” he told reporters outside the hospital on Tuesday.
Virendra Singh Vaishya, another relative, said that the girl was brought to the hospital in critical condition and needed an urgent blood transfusion.
“They are refusing to take his [Mr. Pandey’s] blood. I have to undergo an operation in some time so I am not allowed. Where should we now go and find more people?” he said.
Speaking to The Hindu, hospital superintendent Dr. Priyank Sharma rejected the allegations and said that an inquiry has been conducted into the matter.
Dr. Lokesh Tripathi, blood bank in-charge at the medical college, who conducted the inquiry, said that caste is never brought up at a blood bank.
“This is a very serious matter which has come to my attention. When I enquired about it and found out that two people had come with the family. One of them was a high risk behaviour; I will not disclose it due to rules. The other person was a hernia patient so the doctor on duty said that he could donate if he was not planning on getting his hernia operated,” Dr. Tripathi said in a video statement.
“Our doctors also counselled them that they should bring someone from their family or someone whose activities they were aware of. The blood bank is the only place where caste or religion is never asked. This allegation is completely false,” he said.
“It’s possible that the family may have misunderstood something. But I am issuing this statement so that no misconception is spread about the blood bank,” he added.
A senior doctor at the hospital, who requested anonymity, said that the person whose blood was rejected “had consumed alcohol a night before and his blood was not safe for transfusion”.
“The misunderstanding happened because the family had been stressed over their patient’s health,” the doctor added.
