As the blood bag runs out, a doctor is seen haggling on the phone for more units of A blood group. He concludes the call by saying: 19-20 ka farak hai. A nahin toh AB de do . There is hardly any difference. If you don’t have A blood type, give AB type.
This advertisement by Carwale.com, a platform with a consolidated used car inventory for prospective buyers, is now at the heart of a tussle between the company and the Health Ministry.
The statement of using A or AB blood type interchangeably, according to the Ministry, is adding to the myth surrounding blood donations.
As per the Indian laws, human blood is treated as a ‘drug’ under the Drugs & Cosmetics (D&C) Act. During the HIV/AIDS crisis, the Indian government made it mandatory for any donated blood to be tested for HIV 1&2 antibodies, giving the Blood Safety Programme to the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).
The NACO has written to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a self-regulatory body, to have that advertisement pulled off air as it does not meet the ASCI’s standards of honest representations, said an official in the Ministry.
The official said: “The ASCI has upheld the judgment but the advertisement is yet to be pulled off air. We are following it up with relevant authorities. There are too many inaccuracies surrounding the donation and use of blood components in India. Misinformed advertisements are the last thing we need at this point.”
ASCI secretary-general Shweta Purandare said a decision on the complaint had not been taken yet. “We usually do not speak about individual complaints. In this case, we haven’t conveyed our final decision to the Ministry.”
Earlier this year, the ASCI’s Consumer Complaint Council upheld nearly 60 appeals to remove health and personal care products advertisements on the grounds of being “either misleading or false or not adequately/scientifically substantiated and hence violating the ASCI’s Code.”
In July 2011, advertisements for deodorants — by Axe, Set Wet Style & Zatak — were pulled off air for being derogatory to women.
