Cuttack: Days after an elderly patient became critical following a transfusion of blood from the wrong group at a private hospital in Odisha’s Cuttack, four staff from Central Red Cross Blood Bank were suspended for ‘gross negligence’, a source said Monday.
The patient, identified as Bibhuti Bhushan Jena (74) from Jhola Sahi area in Cuttack, was immediately admitted to the ICU as his health condition worsened minutes after he was administered blood from a different group.
According to the source, Jena was admitted to the private hospital as his haemoglobin count fell below the normal range. The doctor in the hospital advised his family members to arrange blood for transfusion.
Subsequently, his family members went to Central Red Cross Blood Bank and brought A+ blood unit as per his requirement.
“When I went to Red Cross blood bank and asked for an A+ blood unit, the staff at the blood bank asked for a sample which I did not have then. So I went back and came again with a blood sample. The Red Cross staff then did the cross-matching of samples and handed me the blood unit”, the son of the victim said.
However, Jena’s condition worsened within minutes of the blood transfusion, the source added.
“As I am a pharmacist, I suspected something was amiss and called a friend to verify the transfused blood at a private lab. To our dismay, it turned out to be the wrong type, i.e., B+”, Jena’s son had alleged.
Jena’s son had also refused to hand over the pouch to the blood bank that he had gotten from the Red Cross as that was the only evidence he had.
“After the matter came to the fore, the Red Cross staff asked me to fill a form and submit the pouch while taking a sample from it, which they said they would match. But I will not hand over the pouch as it is the only proof I have. It has A+ written on it but had B+ blood inside. Such negligence is horrific and nearly cost my father’s life,” he stated.
The Director of the Central Red Cross Blood Bank August 30 had said that the matter would be probed after getting a report from the doctor treating the patient.
Following the submission of the report from the doctor treating Jena, such action has been taken, the source concluded.
PNN