Rajkot: A 14-year-old thalassemia major boy has tested HIV positive with the parents alleging that it happened after the blood transfusion at the KT Children’s Hospital, which is a part of Rajkot Civil Hospital.
The hospital authorities have, however, categorically denied any negligence.
The boy's father said an HIV test is done every six months. The last samples were given for the test on January 4 and the parents received the report on January 19.
“I was called by the hospital to inform us that my son is HIV positive. I was traumatized learning this. My son’s life has been ruined. He is thalassemia major since birth and we do blood transfusion at KT hospital only every 15 days,” the boy’s father told TOI.
When contacted, Dr. Gauravi Dhruva, head of pathology department at PDU Medical College affiliated to the civil hospital said, “We counter checked the blood supplied and all the units are non-reactive. The general rule is that for four types of transfusion-transmitted infections, we have to do mandatory carry out various tests of the donor’s blood before transfusion and HIV is one of those. The HIV testing kit with us is the most modern.”
When asked how this could have happened, Dr Dhruva said, “One possibility that if the blood donor is in the window period, that is two weeks after HIV virus enters into the body and can’t be detected. The other possibility is that if the boy had taken any other injectable treatment where contaminated syringe could be the cause.”
Meanwhile, the local Congress leaders took up the issue with the collector and demanded strict action against those responsible.
Congress leader Dr. Hemang Vasavada, who submitted a memorandum on Friday, said “The boy was HIV negative till May 2020 and tested positive in the January 2021 report. We suspect that blood transfusion is the only reason for this. So, we have demanded that all those children who received blood along with this boy should be screened.”
Vasavada claimed that the latest HIV testing kit can also detect HIV if the blood donor is in the window period
Resident additional collector PB Pandya said, “We have received the memorandum and the allegations will be investigated in detail.”