23 children in India contract HIV through blood transfusion
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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At least 23 children were diagnosed with HIV after transfusions of blood donated to a public hospital in Gujarat, AFP reported. All affected children suffer from thalassemia, a genetic disease in which blood transfusion is often necessary.
Free medical assistance was provided to children from low-income families suffering from thalassemia, from January to August this year. Transfusions were conducted in the hospital of Junagadh, located 300 kilometers from Ahmedabad.
A total of about 100 children aged 5 to 12 years received transfusions.
According to representatives of the Ministry of Health, the authorities began to investigate the incident.
Earlier, the Minister of Health of Gujarat Jay Narayan Vyas (Jay Narayan Vyas) suggested that children were infected with HIV before entering a public medical institution.
The parents of the victims with indignation rejected this assumption. According to them, donor blood flowed to children only in the hospital of Gujarat.
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