Tamil Nadu: HIV infected blood donor dies after suicide attempt

An HIV infected blood donor in Tamil Nadu who attempted suicide last week after it came to light that his blood was transfused to a pregnant woman in Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu, passed away on Sunday morning after failing to respond to treatment.

The 19-year-old youth, who hails from Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district, attempted suicide by consuming rat poison on Wednesday and was shifted to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai for intensive care treatment. Though his condition was said to be stable till Saturday, hospital sources said his body developed complications and he breathed his last around 8 am.

The issue came to light when the donor called the government blood bank at Sivakasi on December 13 after learning that he was infected by the virus and told them not to use his blood, donated on November 30, for transfusion. He had donated blood because a relative of his needed it at the hospital. It was sent to the blood bank since it was not used.

But by that time, the blood was already given to the pregnant woman who underwent blood transfusion at a government hospital in Sattur in Virudhunagar district as she was found to be anaemic during a prenatal check-up on December 3. The negligence of the lab technicians who labelled the blood as safe without mandatory tests.

Getting into damage control mode after the incident, the government had suspended three technicians for dereliction of duty and has ordered an inquiry. The government is in a spot after a second woman from Chennai claimed that she also contracted HIV following blood transfusion at the Government Kilapuk Medical College Hospital in Chennai. However, the hospital has denied the allegations of the woman.