Pregnant woman given wrong blood type

BALANGIR: Call it negligence or sheer callousness on the part of health officials of Balangir district headquarters hospital, an anaemic pregnant woman was allegedly administered wrong blood type, in a bid to boost her haemoglobin count, on Friday. She has been kept under observation as the mismatch in the blood group can prove fatal.Reports said nine-month pregnant Sujata Bagarty of Balangir town was admitted to the hospital and since her haemoglobin count was 6.8 per cent, the doctors advised blood transfusion. While she tested B +ve, the blood bank reportedly handed over AB +ve blood for transfusion. The patient complained of uneasiness forcing the nurse on duty to stop the transfusion immediately.Suspecting mismatch, the blood was tested again and found to be AB +ve. The blood bank was quick to replace the blood following which transfusion was resumed. The attending doctor Balaram Panigrahi, confirmed the goof-up. Sujata’s husband Dilip Bagarty said the negligence of the blood bank officials could have led to the death of his wife. CDMO Bikrant Kindo termed the incident as “gross negligence” and assured to look into the matter. Necessary action would be taken against the erring person, he added.