Daughter Suffering from Leukaemia Died After being Given HIV-Infected Blood during Transfusion, Alleges Kerala Couple

Alappuzha, Apr,12 (PTI): A 10-year-old girl suffering from blood cancer, who had tested positive for HIV allegedly after getting a transfusion of infected blood, died on Wednesday. The girl was suffering from pneumonia, and died at the Alappuzha Medical College hospital in Alappuzha, Kerala on Wednesday morning, Medical superintendent Ram Lal, told news agency PTI.

"The patient was suffering from blood cancer and died due to its complications," he said.The girl's family has alleged that she had tested positive for HIV after undergoing blood transfusion at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram last year.

The father alleged that there were "lapses" in the treatment of his daughter at RCC in March last year.

The child had been admitted to the Alappuzha Medical College hospital a week ago and was discharged. She was again admitted today, he said.

The family had not yet received the blood test report conducted in Delhi, he told reporters and alleged that there was "conspiracy" in not releasing the test report.The state government had instituted an inquiry committee after the allegations were levelled against RCC.

The committee in its report had stated that there was no fault on RCC's part, in the matter.

COMMENTSThe child, had been referred to RCC from the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital last year after doctors noticed a swelling in one of her eyes. Various tests had been carried out, including blood test, which had reportedly revealed she was HIV positive.

According to reports by the Indian Express, the high-level panel headed by Joint DME Sreekumari, appointed by the state government to look into the matter, has already given the clean chit to RCC. The Kerala AIDS control society and the RCC had both conducted a probe into the matter and concluded that there was no mistake on the part of the RCC.

The reports seem to suggest that the HIV virus may have been transmitted through the blood which was transfused during the window period and that RCC didn’t have a Nucleic Acid Test facility to detect virus during the window period. Health Secretary Rajeev Sadanandan also mentioned that there is nothing to hold against the RCC and that they had followed all the blood transfusion protocol. Director of RCC Paul Sebastian said that the centre is now planning to set up the Nucleic Acid test facility to that could detect HIV infection during the window period at blood banks.