LUCKNOW, Oct. 31 -- The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has ordered to suspend all blood-related activities at 14 blood centres across UP after surprise inspections uncovered serious lapses in blood screening and storage there. Inspections of 81 centres in 31 districts exposed violations that could potentially put patients receiving blood transfusions at risk. These violations included using rapid kits instead of mandatory ELISA testing for screening infections, faulty deep freezers, expired medicines and the absence of doctors and trained technical staff. Highest 13 inspections were conducted in Lucknow alone. Seven centres each were inspected in Agra and Muzaffarnagar, five each in Aligarh, Kanpur and Prayagraj, and four in Bijnor. The remaining inspections covered 26 other districts.htc...