5 Kids With Thalassemia Test HIV+ After Transfusion
“Instructions have been issued to suspend the civil surgeon of West Singhbhum, along with other responsible officials, following reports of HIV-infected blood transfusions to thalassemia patients in Chaibasa. The state government will provide ₹2 lakh financial assistance to each affected family and will bear the complete cost of treatment for the infected children”: Chief Minister announced on X (formerly Twitter).
RANCHI: In a shocking case of medical negligence, five children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV-positive following blood transfusions at a government-run blood bank in Chaibasa, the district headquarters of West Singhbhum in Jharkhand.
The matter came to light after the family of a seven-year-old patient alleged that their child had contracted HIV through contaminated blood supplied by the local blood bank. Acting on the complaint, a five-member medical team from Ranchi conducted an inquiry on Saturday and confirmed four more cases among children receiving regular transfusions.
Following the revelations, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday ordered the suspension of the West Singhbhum Civil Surgeon and other officials responsible for the lapses.
“Instructions have been issued to suspend the civil surgeon of West Singhbhum, along with other responsible officials, following reports of HIV-infected blood transfusions to thalassemia patients in Chaibasa. The state government will provide ₹2 lakh financial assistance to each affected family and will bear the complete cost of treatment for the infected children,” the Chief Minister announced on X (formerly Twitter).
Describing the incident as “extremely heartbreaking,” Soren directed the Health Department to conduct a statewide audit of all blood banks and submit a report within five days.
According to officials, the seven-year-old child had received around 25 units of blood from the Chaibasa blood bank since the start of treatment. District Civil Surgeon Dr. Sushanto Majhee confirmed that the child had tested HIV-positive more than a week ago, while also noting that transmission could occur through multiple routes, including contaminated needles.
The investigation team, led by Director of Health Services Dr. Dinesh Kumar, inspected the Sadar Hospital blood bank and the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), collecting records and interacting with the children currently under treatment.
“Preliminary findings suggest that contaminated blood was transfused to a thalassemia patient. Certain irregularities were detected at the blood bank, and officials have been instructed to address these issues immediately,” Dr. Kumar said.
The probe team included Dr. Dinesh Kumar (Director, Health Services), Dr. Shipra Das, Dr. S.S. Paswan, Dr. Bhagat, District Civil Surgeon Dr. Majhee, Dr. Shivcharan Hansda, and Dr. Minu Kumari.
West Singhbhum district currently has 515 HIV-positive cases and 56 registered thalassemia patients.
Reiterating that negligence in health services would not be tolerated, Chief Minister Soren stated,
“The health department must conduct an audit of all blood banks in the state and ensure strict accountability. Lax arrangements in such a vital process will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”
