Blood Transfusions to Help Kids With Disorder Gave Them HIV

At least five children in central India are at the center of growing alarm over blood safety after routine transfusions for a genetic disorder left them infected with HIV. Local media reports six children are affected. Authorities in Madhya Pradesh say the children, ages 3 to 15 and all living with thalassemia, tested positive between January and May during standard screenings for high-risk patients who need frequent transfusions. Officials have formed a committee to trace how the virus was transmitted; the children reportedly received blood from multiple donors at both public hospitals and private clinics. All are now on antiretroviral treatment and are described as stable.

In one case, both parents of a 3-year-old were HIV-positive, raising the possibility of transmission before birth or through breastfeeding. In most, if not all, of the other cases, however, parents tested negative, increasing scrutiny of transfusion practices. Health officials stress that every unit of blood is screened under governmental rules, but they acknowledge what the Indian Express calls a "window period" in which a newly infected donor can test negative, a rare but known risk.

NDTV reports that a pathologist and two lab techs at a local hospital have been suspended. India has faced similar controversies before, including a recent cluster in Jharkhand and a 2011 episode in Gujarat in which nearly two dozen young thalassemia patients contracted HIV after transfusions at a state-run medical center. The cases are intensifying pressure on lawmakers to act on the proposed National Blood Transfusion Bill 2025, which advocates say would tighten oversight of collection, testing, and transfusion.

Patient groups, including those who acquired HIV through transfusions, argue that rural families remain especially vulnerable and often face deep social stigma once a diagnosis is known. One father in Madhya Pradesh blamed "pathetic medical facilities" for his daughter's infection, while a Jharkhand farmer said his family was forced out of rented housing after their landlord learned his 7-year-old son has HIV.