The Madhya Pradesh government has suspended the in-charge of a blood bank and two laboratory technicians at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Government Hospital in Satna district after six children undergoing thalassemia treatment tested HIV positive following suspected contaminated blood transfusions, a senior official said.
The action was taken on Thursday based on the preliminary report of a committee constituted by the state’s Public Health and Family Welfare Department on December 16 to probe the transfusion of infected blood in Satna.
Following the report, blood bank in-charge Dr Devendra Patel and lab technicians Ram Bhai Tripathi and Nandlal Pandey have been suspended, the official said.
A show-cause notice has also been issued to Manoj Shukla, former civil surgeon of the district hospital, directing him to submit a written explanation.
According to the official, Shukla has been warned of strict departmental action if his reply is not satisfactory.
The six children, aged between 12 and 15, were found to be HIV positive after receiving blood transfusions at district hospitals in Satna, Jabalpur and elsewhere. The cases came to light between January and May this year, and all the children are being treated as per HIV protocols. Officials had earlier said that the parents of one of the children were also found to be infected.
In a related development, three people were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in selling blood outside the government hospital in Satna.
Officials said the racket was busted using a decoy customer and investigations were underway to ascertain whether any blood bank employee was involved.
“There were frequent complaints of people offering to sell blood outside the hospital. Following this, a person was sent as a buyer for verification,” sub-divisional magistrate Rahul Siladia told PTI Videos.
“A man offered him a unit of blood for Rs 4,500 and was arrested during the actual transaction,” he said, adding that two more people were arrested based on his questioning. Police also shot a video of the transaction.
A police officer identified the accused as Ranjeet Sahu, Mohammad Kaif and Anil Gupta, and said investigations were on to determine if any hospital blood bank staff had links to the illegal trade.
The state government has constituted a six-member inquiry committee to investigate how the children contracted HIV. Tarun Rathi, Commissioner of the Public Health and Medical Education Department, issued the order announcing the probe team and directed it to submit a detailed report within seven days.
Satna Collector Satish Kumar S said, “Children suffering from thalassemia were receiving regular blood transfusions. Six of them were found to be HIV positive during routine testing.” He added that the parents of one of the children were also found to be HIV positive.
Health Minister Rajendra Shukla said he had ordered an investigation into the matter and sought a report, adding that authorities were also examining whether any transfusions took place at hospitals other than government facilities.
The inquiry committee is headed by Dr Satya Avadhiya, regional director, Rewa division of the Public Health and Medical Education Department. Its members include Ruby Khan, deputy director of the State Blood Transfusion Council; Romesh Jain, blood transfusion specialist at AIIMS, Bhopal; Seema Naved of the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre; Sanjeev Jadon, senior drug inspector, Hoshangabad; and Priyanka Choubey, drug inspector, Bhopal.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress termed the incident a “failure of governance” and demanded accountability.
“This is not an accident, it is a crime. HIV infection through blood transfusion in 2025 cannot be an accident. Blood screening failed, testing protocols were broken, and the monitoring system is in shambles. This is complete system failure,” MLA and Adivasi Congress national president Vikrant Bhuria told reporters.
He said Health Minister Rajendra Shukla should take moral responsibility and resign, adding that the blood bank in-charge and district health officials should be suspended.
“This is failure of governance. These children were found to be HIV positive several months ago, but the government continued to suppress the issue. All the affected children come from poor families. The government should provide them free treatment and adequate compensation throughout their lives,” Bhuria said.
“HIV-infected blood in Satna, deaths from cough syrup in Chhindwara, and rats biting children in a hospital in Indore. These reflect the insensitivity of this government. Hospitals have become unsafe, and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is sleeping. A criminal case should be filed in this matter and a state-level audit of all blood banks should be conducted,” he added.
The state health department has directed the inquiry committee to submit its findings within the stipulated timeframe.