After a media report which quoted a government doctor at a State-run Kanpur hospital as saying that 14 children, who underwent blood transfusion tested positive for serious diseases like HIV, AIDS, and Hepatitis, the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College on Wednesday categorically rejected the allegations.
“Not a single patient has been infected in the last four years through blood transfusions at the medical college or its affiliated hospitals. I would categorically put it on record that in 2014, two cases of Hepatitis B and two cases of Hepatitis C were detected. In 2016, two more cases of Hepatitis C emerged, and one case of Hepatitis B was identified in 2019. These blood transfusions occurred elsewhere and not at the medical college,” said Dr. Sanjay Kala, the principal of GSVM Medical College, at a hurriedly conveyed press conference.
Mr. Kala added he recommended disciplinary action against Dr. Arun Arya, the head of the paediatrics department at the medical college, for making such an irresponsible statement. The State’s Health Department also sought a clarification from the medical college over the issue.
The media report that 14 children suffering from thalassemia, who required blood transfusion tested positive for serious diseases like HIV, AIDS, and Hepatitis at the hospital drew sharp reaction from Opposition leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav.
“The double-engine government has made our health system doubly sick. In a government hospital in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, infected blood was given to 14 children suffering from thalassemia, due to which these children got serious diseases like HIV AIDS and Hepatitis B, C. This serious negligence is shameful. Innocent children are having to suffer the punishment for this unforgivable crime of the BJP government. Yesterday Modi ji was teaching us about taking 10 resolutions, has he ever fixed even an iota of accountability for his BJP governments?,” asked Mr. Kharge on X (formerly on Twitter).
Mr. Yadav alleged no one is watching the health services in the State and the matter should be immediately probed and those responsible should be punished.
