Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The mother of a 13-year-old girl who is being treated at Riyadh's King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center after contracting HIV from a botched blood transfusion procedure at a Jazan public hospital said the minister of health should be the first person to be held accountable for the mistake, according to Al-Hayat daily. Maryam Al-Hakami said she did not trust whatever the minister said regarding her daughter Reham. She added that the decisions to sack top health officials were not enough and urged Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to order treatment for her daughter abroad. Al-Hakami said she would not speak to the person responsible for the mistake in the first place. She said: “If there is more than one person to be blamed (for this grave mistake), they should be executed." She said Reham does not know what happened to her and talks to her friends and grandmother all the time. The mother said Reham's father is still shocked and does not understand how this happened. Reham's aunt said recent laboratory investigations showed that the girl has a strong immune system and the virus is still inactive. Doctors said they are waiting for the results of two tests which will come out in six weeks before deciding if Reham needs to travel abroad to get treatment. Currently, Reham takes medication twice a day.
