4 suspended after woman dies of blood transfusion mix-up in Karnataka

Vijayapura: Three staff nurses and a blood bank technician have been suspended in connection with the death of a woman after transfusion of wrong blood group in the district government hospital here.

The woman was referred to BLDE Hospital soon after she delivered twins. Admitting that the woman was given B-positive blood instead of A-positive after she reportedly bled heavily while giving birth, the district surgeon Dr Shivanand Mastiholi said that the deceased was also suffering from other ailments before she was admitted to the district hospital.

Sharada Doddamani, 31, hailed from Dadamatti village of Babaleshwar taluk. She was admitted to the district hospital on February 23. However, she was soon rushed to a private hospital after giving birth to the twins when the doctors realized about transfusion of the wrong blood group.

She died on March 18 due various health problems.

“The woman recovered in 15 days after she was admitted to the private hospital. But, health worsened as she was suffering from lung infection, low blood pressure, chronic skin disease, pneumonia and other ailments. Transfusion of the wrong blood group alone is not the cause of her death”, Dr Shivanand Mastiholi asserted.

The family members of the deceased woman have not filed a complaint with any officials or police station.