Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday ordered the suspension of the West Singhbhum Civil Surgeon and other officials concerned after five children suffering from thalassemia tested HIV-positive following blood transfusions.
The action came after the family of a seven-year-old thalassemia patient alleged that the local blood bank in Chaibasa, the district headquarters of West Singhbhum, had transfused HIV-contaminated blood to their child.
During an inquiry by a five-member medical team from Ranchi on Saturday, four more children were found to be HIV-positive.
"Instructions have been issued to suspend the civil surgeon of West Singhbhum, along with other responsible officials, following reports of HIV-infected blood transfusion to children suffering from thalassemia in Chaibasa. The state government will provide financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to each affected family and will bear the complete cost of treatment for the infected children," Soren posted on X.
Terming the incident extremely heartbreaking, the CM ordered the health department to conduct an audit of the blood banks in the state.
"The Health Department should conduct an audit of all blood banks located in the state and submit the report within five days. Lax arrangements in the health process will not be tolerated under any circumstances," the CM said in another post.
Following the initial allegation by the child's family, the state government constituted a medical team to investigate how the infected blood was transfused.
According to officials, approximately 25 units of blood had been transfused to the child since treatment began at the Chaibasa blood bank.
District Civil Surgeon Dr Sushanto Majhee earlier confirmed that the child had tested HIV-positive more than a week ago. He also said that HIV transmission could occur through various means, including exposure to contaminated needles.
The five-member investigation team, led by Director of Health Services Dr Dinesh Kumar, inspected the blood bank at Sadar Hospital and the paediatric intensive care unit, collecting details from children currently undergoing treatment.
"Preliminary investigations suggest that contaminated blood was transfused to a thalassemia patient. Certain irregularities were detected at the blood bank, and officials have been instructed to address these issues immediately," Dr Kumar stated.
West Singhbhum district currently has 515 HIV-positive cases and 56 thalassemia patients.
The probe team comprised Dr Dinesh Kumar, Director, Health Services, Dr Shipra Das, Dr SS Paswan, Dr Bhagat, District Civil Surgeon Dr Majhee, Dr Shivcharan Hansda, and Dr Minu Kumari.
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