NHRC notice to Rajasthan govt, police chief over child transfused blood of 'wrong' type at hospital

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday said it has issued notice to the Rajasthan government and the state's police chief over reports that a 10-year-old child was allegedly transfused blood of "wrong" type while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Jaipur earlier this month.

The matter requires a "thorough probe" to identify the persons responsible for such "negligence" and to ensure that such incidents do not recur, the rights panel said in a statement.

The NHRC has taken "suo motu cognisance of the media report that a 10-year-old child was transfused wrong blood type while undergoing treatment at the J K Lon Hospital of the Sawai Man Singh Medical College (SMS), Jaipur", it said.

He is reported to be in a "critical condition with ventilator support". The boy was allegedly transfused two different types of blood on December 5 and December 7, it said.

The NHRC has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises a serious issue of violation of the boy's human rights.

Any kind of negligence by the doctors or medical professionals can cause irreversible loss to the patients. A 23-year-old patient reportedly lost his life at the SMS Hospital in Jaipur only a few months ago, the statement said.

"Two reported cases of negligence in blood transfusion at the same government-run medical facilities are indeed shocking and a matter of concern for the Commission as these amount to the violation of the right to health and life of the patients," it said.

Accordingly, the NHRC has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police, seeking a detailed report within two weeks.

It is expected to include the status of health of the victim child, FIR, action taken against persons responsible and compensation, if any, provided to the aggrieved by the authorities, it added.