Al-Khatarish Okaz/Saudi Gazette JAZAN — The Ministry of Health is facing a lawsuit as a hospital staff erroneously injected AIDS-infected blood into a young girl. A source said the victim Riham was admitted to Jazan Public Hospital three years ago. "Riham was at the hospital to have a blood transfer as she suffered from sickle-cell anemia. She was injected by a nurse and a doctor had run a full checkup on her before she left the hospital. Two days after she was injected, she was admitted to King Fahd Central Hospital where she was informed that she had the blood of an AIDS patient transferred into her," said the source. The source added the Ministry of Health investigated the case and reported that the blood transferred was from a donor and not imported blood. "The blood bank's last import was in 1985. The nurse who injected the blood into Riham did not know that it came from a donor with AIDS. The ministry then fired the director general, medical director and directors of laboratory and blood bank of the hospital," said the source. He added the ministry also fired the technical director at the blood bank and coordinator of the AIDS program in the area. "The ministry also closed down blood donations to the blood bank of Jazan Public Hospital until further notice. The ministry also rearranged the hierarchy of laboratories and blood banks under the Jazan Health Affairs Directorate," said the source. He said the ministry assigned a new directorate under the general directorate of laboratories and forwarded the case to Legislative Health Authority in Jazan to serve justice to the private right of the victim. "The then health minister Abdullah Al-Rabiah paid a visit to Riham at the time and gave her an iPad as a gift. The former minister briefed the family of Riham or her recovery plan. Many social media users reacted to the story and demanded SR500,000 as compensation for her." The supervising doctor in Riham's case Sami Al-Hajjar said medical reports and laboratory reports done in King Faisal Specialized Hospital and the research center in Riyadh show that the patient's blood is now free from AIDS. "The patient underwent three blood tests at different periods. The results in Mayo American Clinic revealed that the virus is dormant. The medical team consulted an American doctor from Harvard University to run detailed tests and the results revealed that the virus is inactive in Riham's blood," said Al-Hajjar. Lawyer and legal consultant Ibrahim Al-Hikami said there will be a court hearing against the Ministry of Health on Nov. 21. "The lawsuit includes medical reports of the emotional and psychological well-being of the parents of Riham. The lawsuit also demands a compensation of SR50 million to the family of Riham as the Ministry of Health was negligent in treating her and the former minister had admitted that the incident was due to a medical error," said Al-Hikami.
