What a shame

This is what we had in todays newspapers. Its an absolute shame.

AHMEDABAD: Mitesh is just 12, but he has to undergo at least 20 blood transfusions in a year for thalassemia. Now, one of this life-saving transfusions has given him AIDS too.

The boy's HIV positive status is linked to the blood transfusions. Mitesh is not the only one, at least five cases of thalassemia and AIDS among children, have been detected in Ahmedabad alone.

Mitesh was just six-months-old when doctors told his father that his child suffered from thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder. His father runs a small hosiery unit. Mitesh is his only son and the news came as a bolt from the blue. The father started a long, gruelling fight to save his son.

Since thalassemia has no cure, blood transfusion is the only solution. Every 25 days he has to be given fresh blood. When he was four-years-old, a doctor broke the second bad news — Mitesh is now HIV positive! Mitesh now has two sets of medicines and his father is haunted by fears of thalassemia and AIDS to deal with.

In Gujarat, the exact number of thalassemia patients is not known. The state health department too does not have any idea. But, some NGOs working in this field say nearly 7,000 children are affected by thalassemia in the state. Of this 1,000 are in Ahmedabad.

These children live a borrowed life, with blood donated by others running through their veins. As if this cruel joke of existence was not enough, for some even this borrowed life seems cursed - they are contracting AIDS.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Five_thalassemic_kids_get_AIDS_after_blood_transfusion/rssarticleshow/3238370.cms

That is truly horrible & sad.
It makes you think about how fragile our life support truly is.
I suppose theres a blessing in that poor families life, but for the life of me I can't see what

 

Those doctors should be sentenced to life imprisonment. Are they quacks or something; giving unscreened blood?

 

Why wasn't the blood screened? but then again maybe the donor knew he was a carrier...
  thats a horrible thought

its realy sad to hear this ... it makes my worried abt trnasfusion .. dot understand wat to say ut only wish that god keep us in his mercy and save us to prolems like this

This is very sad indeed.  It is so awful that the blood is not safe for some thalassemia patients.  I don't know if all blood banks throughout the world are equipped to deal with blood bourne illness in the blood.  My heart goes out to the children and their parents. 

However, I am appalled that they are referring to the existence of thalassemia patients as 'a joke'.  Needing blood for survival is no different than anyone else with a chronic illness requiring either medicine or other products for survival.  Whether it be asthma, diabetes, immune deficiencies, hypothyroid, lupus, organ failure requiring transplant etc etc.  People with thalassemia borrow blood - hopefully the blood is safe - and they are capable of living very productive lives.  The existence of anyone here is NOT a joke!!  I am sorry that the newspaper refers to it that way.

Sharmin