23 Thalassemic Children Test Poz in Western India

[spacebarsux]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/23-Thalassemic-children-test-HIV-positive-in-Gujarat-hospital/Article1-744402.aspx

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/gujarat-23-thalassemic-kids-turn-hiv-positive/183052-3.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/20-thalassemic-kids-test-HIV-ve/articleshow/9939558.cms

[zach]

am i the only one that paused, and reread, at the part about parents bringing the blood to the hospital for the transfusion?

horrible for the children, my heart cries for them.

[spacebarsux]

am i the only one that paused, and reread, at the part about parents bringing the blood to the hospital for the transfusion?

Yea, I caught that too. I think it is obvious that the hospital is passing the buck on the parents who are all from very very poor backgrounds. Unfortunately, in poor countries the poor have no voice. Quite a pathetic state of affairs.

[mecch]

Reads to me like there is not enough information in the investigation to say who fucked up, the hospital or blood banks used by parents to supply the needed blood.  Since we are to understand - perhaps all blood needed cannot be supplied by the hospital, perhaps its a question of shared culpability.

[elf]

The hospital is to blame. The blood can be stored for 3 weeks and then tested, after the window period is over .

2 people got infected thru transfusion in the last 5 years here.
Many MSM don't get tested and use blood donation as their HIV testing ''method'' which is so low from them.
Furthermore,  MSN cannot donate blood here.

[mecch]

"Here" where?  Elf, you live in India? !!!

If I understand the articles, the families had to supply the blood.  

Can we please take the local context into the variables when we think about these nasty situations.

And whats with this thing about a 3-week window on blood?  You are saying blood in a bag needs a 3-week window period to see if HIV develops, in the bag??  Huh???

[spacebarsux]

Parents insist they only ever got transfusions at that specific hospital.

The Health Minister of Gujarat State said the children may have been infected after receiving transfusions "at some other places".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14877706

The matter is still being investigated but I strongly suspect that the hospital is concealing information and is in a much stronger position from a financial/ political & media influence standpoint as compared to the very poor parents. I, for one don't trust our politicians.

Had these been the chidlren of relatively wealthy English-speaking city dwelling folk the investigation would be far more robust and the media would be painting a very different picture.

@Elf:- In India and other poor countries the vast majority of HIV infections are through heterosexual sex and not MSM.

[Ann]

The hospital is to blame. The blood can be stored for 3 weeks and then tested, after the window period is over .

I don't know where you got that idea - it's wrong. Blood that is collected and stored in plastic bags for transfusion will not continue to produce antibodies. The blood has to be inside a living, breathing human being in order to create antibodies to anything.

If a person who gives blood is hiv positive and has not yet produced enough antibodies to generate a reactive (positive) antibody test at the time of giving blood, it won't matter how long after collection the blood is tested, it will still test negative.

If I understand the articles, the families had to supply the blood. 

My understanding was they had to buy the blood from a blood bank, then take it to a hospital to be transfused. They weren't collecting the blood from themselves.

[mecch]

My understanding was they had to buy the blood from a blood bank, then take it to a hospital to be transfused. They weren't collecting the blood from themselves.

Yes that is what I understood as well.

Certainly it is possible its the hospital's fault.  

Yes I get the point about the hospital having the power to deny, and to not investigate.