india

Updated: Dec 26, 2018 14:43 IST

A 24-year-old pregnant woman who went for a blood transfusion at a government hospital in Tamil Nadu has complained that she was given HIV-infected blood.

The blood had been donated on November 30 by an HIV-positive man who was allegedly not aware of his HIV-positive status at the time he donated the blood at a blood donation camp at the Sivakasi government hospital.

In her complaint, the woman, who suffers from anaemia, claimed that she had been given a blood transfusion on December 3.

The matter came to light when the blood donor found out that he was HIV positive during a subsequent medical check-up when applying for a job abroad. The donor had reportedly tested positive for HIV in 2016 as well in Sivakasi, but had not been informed about his status.

When the donor got to know of his status, he rushed to the Sivakasi government hospital seeking his blood test report following which another test was conducted and he was found to be HIV-positive.

Subsequently, the blood that he had donated was traced to Sattur government hospital where it had been transfused to the pregnant woman. The woman was then brought to the hospital and tested. In her complaint, she said that she had tested positive for HIV and sought action against the hospital staff.

Meanwhile, the Sivakasi government hospital, where the donor had given his blood, suspended the three lab technicians for negligence.

The woman has been put on anti-retroviral treatment because doctors say instant detection gives her a chance to live a long life. But the family now has to wait till she delivers her baby to find out if the baby too has been infected with HIV.

District Medical Deputy Director Manoharan has ordered a re-test of all blood samples at 10 government blood banks and four private blood banks.

According to experts, even with advanced testing mechanisms in place, there is a chance of error in virus detection during the first week of having contracted the virus. However, if a person has been HIV positive for years, it should show up even in basic blood screening.

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