MUMBAI, Oct. 14 -- The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) briefly suspended the licenses of three blood banks in Mumbai earlier this month for violating voluntary blood donation norms by allowing donors to receive wristwatches as gifts at a camp in April this year, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The three blood banks are the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), state-run Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals in Byculla, and civic body-run BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, the people said.

Following the FDA decision, the licence of IRCS blood centre's was suspended for five days (October 9-13), while blood banks at JJ and Nair hospitals received three-day suspensions (October 9-11) after they filed u...