RANCHI: Three members of the same family – husband, wife, and their elder child – tested HIV-positive allegedly after receiving infected blood at Sadar Hospital in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum.
Notably, this is not the first case of negligence in West Singhbhum; in October last year, five children undergoing treatment for thalassemia contracted HIV after being given infected blood at Sadar Hospital in West Singhbhum.
The recurring incidents have raised serious doubts about the functioning of the hospital management.
According to the victim's family, the woman had given birth through cesarean section at Chaibasa Sadar Hospital in January 2023.
Due to excessive bleeding during delivery, she was given a blood transfusion from the hospital's blood bank.
The family alleges that the woman received infected blood at that time, which later led to the entire family becoming infected. The matter came to light when the woman became pregnant for the second time in June 2025.
During a routine check-up, it was found that she was HIV-positive. When her husband was tested, he also tested positive.
On January 2, 2026, the woman gave birth to her second child. Meanwhile, when their elder child fell seriously ill and was tested HIV positive during the blood examination, leaving the family completely devastated.
West Singhbhum Civil Surgeon Dr Bharti Gorti Minj, however, said that it would not be appropriate to hold the blood bank responsible solely on the basis of allegations at this time.
She stated that the family has been called to the hospital.
The health department will conduct a thorough review of the medical records, the date of the blood transfusion, the blood donor's test reports, and the transfusion process.
A conclusion will be reached only after the investigation is complete.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi posted X, “In Jharkhand, three members of the same family – a woman, her husband, and their elder daughter – have tested HIV positive.”
This is the same blood bank that was in the news last year for cases of HIV infection among children suffering from thalassemia, he added.
He alleged that the issue points towards a larger conspiracy. “On one hand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren is signing agreements with expensive private hospitals in Davos, while on the other hand, the state government is proving completely incapable of running its own government hospitals efficiently,” posted Marandi.
“Hemant ji, the whole world is watching all this!”
Marandi demanded CBI probe into the functioning of the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital and its blood bank.