Kin of girl who contracted HIV during blood transfusion being compensated, state govt tells Kerala high court
Kochi: The state govt has informed high court that an order has been issued sanctioning appropriate financial aid to the father of a nine-year-old girl who allegedly contracted HIV during a blood transfusion at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvananthapuram, and died in 2018.
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Health and family welfare additional chief secretary Rajan Khobragade submitted in an affidavit that necessary instructions had also been issued to the revenue (disaster relief fund) department to take further steps for disbursing the financial assistance from the chief minister's disaster relief fund (CMDRF) on an urgent basis, vide order dated May 12. The affidavit was filed in response to a petition submitted by the girl's father, seeking adequate financial aid to help the family cope with the mental trauma caused by the child's untimely death and to relieve the financial burden from prolonged medical treatment.
The girl, initially suspected to be suffering from leukaemia, was treated at the Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, and later referred to RCC. She underwent 49 blood transfusions during her treatment. According to the petitioner, one of the blood donors was later found to be HIV-positive. He alleged that his daughter, who was HIV-negative at the start of treatment, contracted the infection during her treatment at RCC.
However, the affidavit stated that RCC was of the considered view that the child and her family were provided full medical, psycho-social and emotional support throughout the unfortunate episode and that no lapses could be attributed to the RCC. The RCC had not recommended compensation, contending that the cause of death was not HIV infection. It was also submitted that RCC does not maintain any funds for compensating deaths or accidents arising from contingent events linked to the institution.
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The affidavit also included technical details regarding the current blood testing equipment used at RCC, highlighting the advancements in technology, including the make, model, and its superiority over the equipment in use at the relevant time.
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