CHENNAI: After a two-and-a-half-year-old girl was infected with HIV, allegedly after blood transfusion at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital recently, the State Health Department officials are planning to call and test three other recipients from the same donor.
However, the officials are thinking how to go about it as it is a “sensitive issue” and they don’t want to create panic. A highly placed source told Express that the three others are, a 52-year-old from Tirupur, an infant from Tirupur and a teenager from Coimbatore.
“The blood was taken from the donor at a camp. It was screened and found to be HIV negative,” the source claimed, adding they still wanted to ensure others are safe.
"On July, 8, platelets were provided to a 52-year-old from Tirupur. On July 11, 40 ml of packed cells were given to an infant from Tirupur. On July 12, 150 ml of packed cells were given to a two-half-a-year-old girl baby. In August, one unit of FFP (fresh frozen plasma) was given to an 18-year-old boy from Coimbatore," the source said.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old donor, who was in Chennai, was called to a government hospital and tested again. "But, results were negative," the source said. The parents of the child from Tiruchy claimed that their daughter contracted HIV through blood transfusion at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where she was admitted for cardiac treatment.
However, Dr A Edwin Joe, Director of Medical Education, said, "The donor has donated blood five times. He also donated recently. He is still HIV negative. We are very sure that the child had not contracted HIV from our institution.
“The child was treated at various places, so the parents should come out with those details as well because this should not discourage voluntary blood donation," he added.
Dr B Asokan, Dean, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, said, "We have constituted a four-member committee to investigate the allegation.”