Man files RTI to know his blood group, rejected

New Delhi, May 22: What is my blood group? A man posed this bizarre but “serious” question to the Central Information Commission by way of an RTI plea after tests threw up different results about his blood type.

Rahul Chitra, through an acquaintance, had filed an RTI application addressed to the Medical Council of India ( MCI). The plea included reports of tests conducted at different government hospitals and private labs which gave “completely different results” about his blood group. Some tests revealed his RH factor was positive, while it was found negative in others, he claimed.

Rhesus ( Rh) factor is an inherited protein found on the surface of red blood cells. If a person’s blood has the protein, his/ her Rh factor is positive. If blood lacks the protein, Rh is negative. Rh positive is the most common blood type.

The MCI rejected the application, saying it seeks to gather the opinion of the Central Public Information Officer “which is covered not under the definition of ‘ Information’ under the RTI Act”.

The RTI applicant and Chitra appeared for hearing before the commission where he said that he had undergone blood tests at four different pathological labs in Agra and at the district hospital.

The tests showed he has two blood types — B positive, B negative.

He said a test conducted at the Pant Hospital in Delhi showed his blood group was B positive.

“If, during an emergency, I require blood transfusion, which blood group would be given to me?” Chitra asked during the hearing before Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad.

The Information Commissioner noted that the issue raised by the applicant was “serious in nature and pertains to Chitra’s life”. “There is no clarity on Rahul Chitra’s blood group. It’s a serious question as to which blood group should be given to him in case of an emergency. It becomes even more important as information sought is linked to his Right to Life,” he said.

Azad rejected the MCI’s contention that the question does not come under the definition of “Information” which can be sought under the RTI Act and asked the CPIO to transfer the application to Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

“AIIMS is a super speciality hospital which conducts research on such special cases. The commission has concluded that AIIMS can do proper inquiry and inform the applicant,” he said.