JOIN USAn anaemic woman, who was allegedly transfused wrong blood at K C General Hospital on Saturday, died at Victoria Hospital on Thursday morning.
The victim, Rajeshwari (25), was suffering from anaemia for the past four years. She used to work at a garments factory, but was forced to quit after her health deteriorated. She required frequent blood transfusion and was being treated at St John’s Hospital.
However, since the hospital was far from her house, she started visiting K C General Hospital. Her elder sister Jayalakshmi, with whom Rajeshwari lived at Malleswaram, said she used to undergo blood transfusion almost every two weeks.
Jayalakshmi said her sister fell ill on Saturday and was admitted to K C General Hospital. She said Dr Suresh examined Rajeshwari and instructed lab technicians to give her two bottles of blood. Rajeshwari’s blood group was O positive. “After transfusion of one bottle, while lab technician Bhagyalakshmi was changing the bottle, Rajeshwari saw that the label read B positive. She raised an alarm.
Bhagyalakshmi tried to hush up the matter, saying that the label was wrong and the blood was indeed O positive. However, I went to the doctor and made a big issue,” she said. It was found that the blood already transfused into Rajeshwari was B positive, she added.
Rajeshwari developed complications like nausea and diarrhoea. K C General Hospital staff failed to revive her. The family then shifted her to a private hospital on Tuesday.
She was shifted to Victoria Hospital on Wednesday morning, where she died in the early hours of Thursday.
Subhadramma, the septuagenarian mother of the victim, told Deccan Herald that the hospital was responsible for her daughter’s death. She claimed that Bhagyalakshmi had offered the family Rs 50,000. “If she brings back my daughter, I will give her money,” she said.
The family has lodged a complaint of medical negligence with the Malleshwaram police. A case has been registered under Section 304 A (causing death due to negligence) and Section 336 (an act endangering the life or personal safety of others) of the IPC against Bhagyalakshmi, Dr Suresh and two other hospital staff.
When contacted, the medical superintendent of K C General Hospital said: “We are investigating the matter. Action will be taken against the guilty.” Doctors at Victoria Hospital, where the body was taken for post mortem, said: “The post mortem has been done. The final result can be said only after chemical analysis and pathological report. Blood samples have been sent for tests and only then can we confirm anything.”
Health Minister U T Khader told mediapersons that he was unaware of the case and had, in fact, asked the director of the Health and Family Welfare Department to visit the hospital, investigate and submit a detailed report on the issue.