Service sued for R24m for ‘infected blood’

A DURBAN man says a blood transfusion that was meant to save his life, has left him with an incurable virus and robbed of his independence.

Now he is suing the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) for R24 million in medical expenses, loss of income and damages.

But the SANBS in its court papers, said the blood that was supplied for transfusions did carry a warning that there was a risk of diseases or viruses being transmitted.

The organisation also said that the virus was not among those that it was required to test for in terms of the National Health Act.

The man is also asking that a judge order the service to employ more stringent testing on the blood it receives from donors.

According to papers filed in the Durban High Court, the man – who cannot be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter – received a number of blood transfusions while he was in a private hospital in Durban, in October 2011.

“Unbeknownst to (him) at the time of the transfusions, one or more of the units of blood transfused to him was infected with HTLV-1,” his papers read.

HTLV-1 (or Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type I) is a virus that attacks the nervous system and for which there is currently no known cure.

About some two years after he received the transfusions, the man in question was diagnosed with HTLV-1.

Over the course of the last four years, he has incurred in the region of R350000 in medical expenses.

He suffers from “bowel dysfunction” and “since October 2014, (he) has become entirely wheelchair-bound”.

A legal consultant by profession, he is no longer able to work but he requires monthly plasma infusions, thrice weekly physiotherapy sessions as well as various medications and screenings.

He has also had to employ a full-time caregiver as well as a part-time driver and to renovate his bathroom in order to accommodate his loss of mobility.

“As a result of his becoming infected with HTLV-1, (he) has experienced pain and suffering, discomfort and loss of amenities of life,” the papers read. “(His) infection with HTLV-1 has also compromised his immune system, leaving him vulnerable to other diseases and infections (including pneumonia and bedsores) which vulnerability will intensify as the disease progresses” .

In its papers, the SANBS admits that one of the units of blood it supplied to the man, “had, in all probability, been infected with HTLV-1”.

It said he was infected with the same HTLV-1 virus, as that found in the donor’s blood.

But, it said, it was not its practice to test the blood it supplied for HTLV-1.

“South Africa has a low prevalence of HTLV-1 in its donor population,” the SANBS’ papers read, “Some countries screen their donor blood for HTLV-1 and some countries do not” .

It said the National Health Act required that the SANBS tested its blood for syphilis; hepatitis-B; anti-bodies of hepatitis-C; antibodies of HIV-1 and HIV-2; red cell serology, including ABO grouping and Rh grouping and allo-agglutinin titre.

It also said the blood supplied in this instance, was requisitioned by the man’s treating doctor and carried a warning that there was “always a risk of transmitting disease by blood transfusion even though the blood is tested and found negative for (certain) markers”.

The SANBS maintained that the man and his doctor had accepted the risks of transmission of something like HTLV-1, by transfusion.

The matter came before a judge last week, when the man’s legal team brought an application in which it took issue with some of the contents of the SANBS’ papers.

The application, however was dismissed and the case is expected to be set down for trial soon.