Saudi Gazette report JAZAN — Reham Al-Hakami, 13, who contracted HIV through a mistaken blood transfusion at the Jazan Public Hospital last Tuesday, was airlifted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) in Riyadh at the behest of the Minister of Health, an Arabic daily reported Saturday. She is now at the hospital spending most of her time exchanging messages on WhatsApp with her friends back home in Jazan. Reham, worried and frightened due to the twin affliction of sickle cell anemia, which she has had since she was eight months old, and HIV, is homesick and wants to return to her village. Doctors say they will be able to determine Reham's health condition in two weeks after she takes certain medications. Reham hopes to buy an iPad as a get-well present and aims to be a doctor when she grows up. She is an excellent six-grader and her performance at school is outstanding. She has already memorized several chapters of the Holy Qur'an. Reham had blood transfusions twice a year until she was eight years old. Her condition stabilized at that stage and she was put on medications. She has lost two of her brothers in the past to sickle cell anemia. Some Jazan residents, meanwhile, have launched a campaign to alleviate her suffering and depression while some have set up Facebook pages in her name. They collected several gifts as well as cash and non-cash aid for her family. Reham's mother, however, is still in shock and cannot believe what has happened to her daughter. When the doctor broke the news of her daughter contracting HIV virus at Jazan Public Hospital, she fainted. But she exuded hope, saying doctors at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital have reassured her and told her that her daughter will recover, God willing. Reham's aunt said her niece has not had a blood transfusion since 2008. She said Reham went to the Jazan Public Hospital because she was complaining of back pain. When the hospital ran some investigations, the results showed that her hemoglobin was between 6-7. So Reham was given a blood transfusion despite the fact that her medical history showed that she did not need any transfusion when the hemoglobin was in this range, her aunt said. She just needed to eat certain types of food to boost her hemoglobin level, according to her aunt. Meanwhile, the committee formed by the Ministry of Health to investigate the case arrived at the Jazan Public Hospital and the results of investigation would be announced soon. The Ministry of Health's spokesman Dr. Khalid Marghalani said a decision would be taken only after the investigations are completed. He denied reports that the Jazan Health Affairs director has been dismissed. He said the person who donated the blood probably doesn't know that he has HIV, adding that the ministry will provide him with proper medical treatment. Some social networking sites claimed that the Jazan Health Affairs director called the donor, who is a Saudi citizen living in Uhud Al-Masareha governorate, Jazan, but the latter hung up and switched off his cell phone. The chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) Muhammad Al-Shareef, said the committee does not handle cases similar to Reham's because it is not part of its tasks and specialty.
