Healthcare commission sends notice to Lahore hospital over wrong blood transfusion
The Punjab Healthcare Commission has sent a notice to a private hospital in Lahore for transfusing a woman with the wrong blood type, causing her kidneys to fail.
They are investigating the case and waiting for the hospital to respond.
Secretary to the CEO Dr Zafar Iqbal Sheikh told a private source the CEO is busy and the hospital has not provided a statement.
The woman was given AB+ blood after she was taken to the hospital for low haemoglobin (Hb) levels in July 2020.
According to her family, the hospital diagnosed her blood type as AB+, even though the family insisted she has B+ blood.
AB+ is a universal donor, which means people with this type can receive blood from all blood types. Those with B+ blood can only receive from O-, O+, B- and B+ blood types.
If someone is given the wrong blood type, they can have a severe and potentially life-threatening immune reaction. Blood cells in the body break down, forming clots that can damage organs.
The family said they got the test done from another lab which confirmed her blood type was B+.
The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Karachi has corroborated the family’s account and confirmed that the patient got the wrong blood type.
Earlier, the family said they were busy with the patient’s treatment but they are now coming forward with their story.
The woman had to stay in Karachi for four months for dialysis treatment. She is alive and recovering.
