The family of a teenage girl mistakenly infected with HIV after a blood transfusion at a public hospital in Jazan, has called for action to be taken against the health authorities in the region.
“Our family demands that the wrong done to our girl be redressed and the real perpetrator, which is the health affairs department and not the technician who did the transfusion, be brought to justice. Had the department been conducting its business properly, none of this would have happened,” said Abd Ar-Rahman, a relative of the teenager Riham, in a phone interview with Arab News.
Ar-Rahman said it was difficult to communicate with the girl’s parents “because they are traumatized.” Governor of Jazan Prince Muhammad bin Naser bin Abdulaziz ordered an investigation into the case and requested urgent reports on the incident, according to a website.
The contaminated blood transferred to the girl, who is in her 20s, was provided by the hospital’s laboratory that later discovered the blood they provided was from an HIV-infected person.
Khaled Mirghalani, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said that the ministry will take action against those responsible, based on its rules and regulations. Muhammad Sumaili, spokesman for Jazan’s health department, declined to comment.
Before the incident, Riham was hospitalized for severe anemia and needed a blood transfusion.
On the legal front, Ahmad Bahkali, the general supervisor of the Jazan branch of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), told Arab News that “a number of proceedings have been initiated, by communicating with the various parties.”
He stressed that the NSHR wants the girl to get the best possible care, whether it is in Saudi Arabia or abroad. He called on the Ministry of Health to investigate the matter and punish the perpetrators.
The incident has sparked an intense debate on Twitter. One user tweeted that the girl was a victim of negligence and asked who was responsible. The user said an apology was pointless.
“This is not the first time that something like this has happened. We demand justice for our families,” another tweeter said.
Some tweeters called for the resignation of the Minister of Health while others said that public pressure must be placed on the ministry so that top officials can take action.
