The report that 2,234 people across India have contracted HIV after transfusion of contaminated blood is an unmistakable measure of the sorry state of affairs in the public health sector (“ >Bad blood: 2,234 get HIV after transfusion ”, May 31). This irreversible error is clearly the result of not following the procedures laid down for blood-screening and discarding contaminated blood. Have other life-threatening and debilitating infections been transmitted as well?
G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has stringent rules to maintain blood banks. It is a common practice for blood banks to keep blood ready (in advance) after testing for diseases for only bulk quantities of blood. It’s a bit lax for single units of blood. There is also a window period for HIV and tests may give negative results even though the recipient might test positive after a few months. In view of this, there must be a foolproof method that takes care of the window period and having a single, comprehensive HIV test kit in all blood banks. The apex body, the Indian Council of Medical Research, and one of the world’s oldest, must come forward with concrete solutions.
J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda, Telangana
What is alarming is the slackening pace of the government’s AIDS awareness campaign. The Health Ministry has to issue an advisory to all hospitals across India about putting in place an effective screening mechanism.
P.K. Varadarajan,
Chennai
It made my blood boil to read about how an innocent three-year-old in Assam now has HIV as a result of carelessness in transfusion. Blood donation is a noble gesture but the risk of contamination will now slow down the programme. Most stringent quality standards and audits should be implemented to ensure the use of safe blood.
A. Jainulabdeen,
Chennai
The tall claims of world-class, public health care in India need to be taken with a pinch of salt when it comes to the reality of prevention against HIV. The government needs to enforce strict screening standards in both government and private hospitals.
Raunak Agarwal,
Kanpur
All donors do not have pure blood and the “impurity quotient” is sufficient enough to lead to a host of complications.
Hospitals, as a matter of routine, stock blood for emergency infusion. The insistence that donated blood must come from healthy and dependable donors does not appear to be working. It is frightening as most towns in India lack world-class, health care facilities.
V. Lakshmanan,
Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
I understand that there is no mechanism in this country to file a report on transfusion-transmitted HIV infection. And I do not think NACO has the mechanism. I hope the media clarifies this and makes available the response of NACO being referred to in order to avoid panic.
Dr. P. Srinivasan,
Chennai
