The Madras High Court on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of an incident in which a pregnant woman in the state of Tamil Nadu tested positive for HIV after a blood transfusion process was performed to treat her anaemia.
The incident is a shocking alarm against the unreliable screening process at the government hospital in Sattur in Sivakasi district.
The 23-year-old woman was pregnant with her second child with her husband who was a daily-wage earner. The transfusion of infected blood only became known by chance, when the donor of the blood was made aware of his condition elsewhere, reports The News Minute.
The donor, a 21-year-old man discovered his condition after a routine medical examination for a visa application process. Responsibly, he informed doctors of a recent blood donation drive that he had participated in.
The health department officials then found that the blood had already been transfused to the woman, who was immediately given antiretroviral medications as a precaution,.
The lab technician, whose ‘human error’ led to the mishap, has now been suspended.
Dr Senthil Raj IAS, who has been overseeing the crisis, told The News Minute that he has disallowed using any donated blood at the hospital’s blood bank until further notice, and that all possible actions will be taken to take care of the woman.
All efforts are being taken to contain the situation and to make sure that no one else is affected. All blood transfusions from the Sattur hospital are currently being ordered to stop. Blood will be sourced from other facilities in the meantime.
Two advocates, George Williams and Krishnamoorthy asked the vacation bench of the Madras High Court to take suo motu cognisance of the case. The bench comprised of Justice S Vaidyanathan and Justice PT Asha.
Subsequently, the court issued notice to the health secretary to submit a status report containing details of the incident as well as any action taken against the concerned people by January 3, 2019.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)