Jharkhand HC pulls up state in botched blood transfusion case at Chaibasa hospital

Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Thursday pulled up the state govt for not following the standard operating procedure (SOP) for blood transfusion, leading to HIV infection among five children in the state recently.

The court of Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), rapped the additional chief secretary of the health department, Ajoy Kumar Singh, after the news report of five children who underwent blood transfusion in Chaibasa district were found to be HIV positive.

The children were thalassemia patients and had come to the sadar hospital in Chaibasa for their treatment, which included transfusion of blood. The children were transfused blood on different dates in August and September this year. Subsequently, the children were tested and found to be HIV positive, a fact which has also been accepted by the govt recently.

The division bench observed that the govt should take immediate action to stop such incidents. The court then directed additional chief secretary health to file an affidavit and provide details of blood donation camps held in govt and private hospitals in the state.

The court also sought information regarding the demand for blood in hospitals and the amount being provided by blood banks. The court directed the department to furnish the SOP to be formulated in terms of the National Blood Policy before the bench.

In the course of the hearing, the bench ordered the govt to inform as to why advanced screening machines to conduct the Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) have not been installed in state hospitals. The NAT is essential for determining the quality of blood before transfusion to a patient and to ascertain the presence of HIV, the court was informed by social activist Atul Gera.

The bench also questioned the govt on the lapses on its part for keeping the process of granting licences to blood banks for over two years. The court was informed that the current practice of procuring blood by a patient involves donating a unit to a blood bank and paying for the required unit of blood.

Earlier, the court had initiated the PIL suo motu based on a letter written by a parent of a thalassemia child who was transfused blood in the Ranchi sadar hospital. The child contracted HIV through the contaminated blood, after which the father had written a letter to the Chief Justice, who converted it into a PIL. The court has set Nov 4 as the next date of hearing in the case.