Boy Infected with AIDS at AIIMS

A boy, suffering from cancer, became infected with AIDS after blood transfusion at the hospital in 2001.

Delhi High Court has sought an explanation from medical superintendent of AIIMS for its failure to comply with the disclosure of sufficient details after a boy, suffering from cancer, became infected with AIDS after blood transfusion at the hospital in 2001.

Aggrieved with the defensive attitude of AIIMS, Justice Vikramjit Sen has asked the hospital to explain its unwillingness to disclose details of the donor whose blood was transfused into the victim.

In spite of repeated requests the hospital has avoided producing papers related to the blood transfusion since 2001 when the case was filed by the patient. The boy was then nine-years-old.

According to Justice Vikramjit Sen the issue of blood transfusion concerned the public at large and that the MS needed to explain as to how a hospital could protect a person whose contaminated blood has infected another person with HIV.

While objecting to the advocate's arguments, the judge commented that in most of the cases where AIIMS was involved, the hospital gets defensive and refuses to admit the fault.

"I agree that the hospital is of repute and has the best facilities. But it can go wrong somewhere," remarked the judge.

The hospital's arguments that the boy must have received the virus through a needle or an intravenous drug was brushed aside by the judge. "Do you want to say that the nine-year-old boy was on drugs," the judge said.

The boy's advocate, Anand Grover, mentioned that the boy had been admitted to a private hospital in Jaipur before going to AIIMS and while the private hospital produced relevant papers related to the boy's treatment, AIIMS did not.

Grover stressed the importance of the papers as a compensation of Rs 25 lakh had been sought from the hospital. "Those papers can prove that the blood transfusion infected the boy with HIV, since otherwise he has no medical history," Grover added.