Jharkhand Health Department Exonerates Chaibasa Hospital in HIV Transmission Case
The Jharkhand Health Department has officially cleared the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital's blood bank of responsibility in a case where a family alleged HIV transmission through blood transfusion during a Caesarean procedure. This conclusion comes after a thorough investigation into the claims made by a family from Chaibasa.
Investigation Details and Findings
West Singhbhum district's Civil Surgeon, Dr. Bharti Minj, revealed that the department meticulously traced the two separate blood sources administered to the woman during her Caesarean delivery. Both donors underwent comprehensive HIV testing as part of the probe.
"Both test results have returned negative," stated Dr. Minj. "Based on this conclusive evidence, we can definitively state that the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital blood bank played no role in the alleged HIV transmission in this specific case."
The family had claimed that the wife tested positive for HIV following the blood transfusion during childbirth, and subsequently, both her husband and newborn daughter also tested positive for the virus.
Separate Thalassemia Cases and Confidential Probe
This investigation's conclusion emerges against the backdrop of another serious healthcare concern. In October of the previous year, five children with thalassemia tested positive for HIV, allegedly after receiving blood transfusions from the same hospital's blood bank.
Dr. Minj confirmed that investigations into these thalassemia cases have been completed. However, the findings remain shrouded in confidentiality. Ritu Sahay, Director of the Jharkhand State Drugs Directorate, stated that the report "could not be made public" and has been submitted to Neha Arora, the Health Department's Special Secretary who led the high-level investigation committee.
Neha Arora had previously commented last year that the investigation report contained "nothing very serious." Despite this, there has been no official communication from a Central team that conducted a parallel inquiry, and the complete report remains undisclosed to the public.
Political Reactions and Demands for Accountability
The case has attracted significant political attention. Leader of Opposition, Babulal Marandi, recently took to social media platform X to highlight the situation. He connected this family's case to last year's thalassemia incidents, arguing it demonstrates that the issue of alleged HIV-infected blood transfusions at Chaibasa Sadar Hospital is not an isolated event.
Marandi has alleged serious negligence in hospital management and blood bank operations. He has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry and criticized the state government for not shutting down the blood bank. Furthermore, he questioned the government's focus on signing agreements with private hospitals abroad while, in his view, failing to adequately manage its own public healthcare facilities.
The Health Department's clearance in the Caesarean case provides some resolution for the specific family involved. However, the lack of transparency surrounding the thalassemia patients' investigation continues to raise questions about systemic safeguards in blood transfusion protocols and overall accountability within Jharkhand's public health infrastructure.
