Migrant woman, husband, 3-year-old daughter test +ve
After staying in UP for 7 months, the woman, whom hospital management had earlier declared untraceable, recently returned with family
BATHINDA: A 33-year-old woman, who was infused HIV infected blood by the blood bank staff of Shaheed Bhai Mani Civil Hospital at Bathinda last year, tested positive for the virus. Her husband and a threeyear-old daughter were also found HIV positive, but a fouryear-old son tested negative.
After staying at their native place in Uttar Pradesh for over seven months, the family recently returned to live in a rented accommodation near the Police Lines in the city. The hospital management had earlier declared the woman patient untraced.
After being traced last week in Bathinda, the family was tested for HIV on Friday.
On May 5 last year, the woman was admitted to the hospital with acute anaemia and was administered two units of blood of an HIV + person. Like the donor, the woman was not alerted by the civil hospital about the infection.
Doctors said the woman’s daughter may have caught the infection due to breastfeeding.
“My husband is a labourer and our life has been shattered due to the callous attitude of the hospital staff. He is in a state of trauma and crying since the test reports were given to us. My daughter’s life has been ruined,” the woman said.
Earlier, four thalassaemia patients, between 7 and 13 years, being treated at the Bathinda district hospital were found HIV positive. Two panels of the health department and Punjab State AIDS Control Society (PSACS) had confirmed largescale irregularities in running the blood bank.
Senior medical officer Dr Maninder Singh, in-charge of the civil hospital, declined to comment on the HIV+ reports to maintain the confidentiality of patients. He also refused to confirm the number of patients who contracted HIV due to the wrong blood transfusion.
Sonu Maheshwari, president of Naujawan Welfare Society (NWS), a Bathinda NGO fighting for the wrong blood transfusion victims, demanded a speedy action against the accused and financial compensation to the victims.
A serious breach of blood donation protocol came to light in October last year when a seven-year-old thalassaemia patient was infused HIV+ blood at the government hospital.
A fact-finding panel found that an HIV-infected volunteer, a regular blood donor, had donated blood in May last year and the blood bank staff violated standard operation procedure (SOP).
The blood bank officials were negligent on two accounts. First, they did not check the blood before issuing it and they did not alert the patient and the hospital administration about the goof-up.
Role of at least six staffers then posted at the blood bank came under the scanner in the serious breach of strict guidelines of blood infusion. Main accused Baldev Singh Romana, a medical laboratory technician (MLT) was arrested under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
ON MAY 5 LAST YEAR, THE WOMAN WAS ADMITTED TO THE BATHINDA CIVIL HOSPITAL WITH ACUTE ANAEMIA AND WAS ADMINISTERED TWO UNITS OF BLOOD OF AN HIV+ PERSON