Karnataka:HIV-infected blood sold to patient

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Cross posted from: JVnet

'HIV-infected blood sold to patient'

Deccan Herald (Online) 23 April 2003

DH News Service BANGALORE, April 22

A blood bank in Hubli had sold one unit of HIV infected blood to a poor patient.

A medical store in Belgaum was found stocking half-used and expired blood bags

in the refrigerator. And a pharmacist was caught selling blood bags across the

counter in Gulbarga. Well, do you know what action has been taken in these cases

? Perhaps, the answer is 'nothing'.

Deposing before the Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Venkatachala in connection

with drug scam here today, Deputy Drugs Controller M N Ramamurthy told that the

Department of Drugs Control took almost two years to decide on a case pertaining

to the sale of HIV infected blood by Hubli-based M/s M R Diagnostic Research

Centre & Blood Bank.

Throwing light on how the drugs controller had failed to check the sale of

infected blood, Mr Ramamurthy said, " the Basel Mission of Church of South India

Hospital in Gadag had received one unit of blood from M/s M R Diagnostic

Research Centre & Blood Bank on June 2, 2001 and when cross-checked for HIV 1

and 2 it was found to be positive. The matter was brought to the notice of

Deputy Drugs Controller S H Anegundi who too got the blood checked and confirmed

it to be HIV positive. A report was later sent to Drugs Controller Anand

Rajshekar, who in turn sought an explanation from the blood bank. However, on

January 1 this year the Drugs Controller closed the case after just issuing a

warning to the blood bank owner instead of prosecuting him. "

Likewise, no action was taken against the owner of Mysore Medical Hall in

Gulbarga for stocking blood bags in the store, Mr Ramamurthy said. Though the

Department officials had seized the blood bags on September 9, 1999, no effort

has been made so far to ascertain whether the bags contained human blood or

animal blood, he said.

In another case pertaining to M/s Ganesh Medicals in Belgaum where half-used and

expired blood bags were found during an inspection in July 26, 2000, no action

has been taken against the medical store owner till date, Mr Ramamurthy said.

The sale and stocking of blood by medical stores is being allowed by the

Department personnel all over the State, he alleged. Instead of preventing

medical stores from selling blood bags by instituting criminal cases against

them, the Department is abetting such sale by druggists, Mr Ramamurthy added.