KASHMIR – HEMOPHILIA PATIENTS INFECTED BY HEPATITIS C
March 24, 2014; Posted by: WeBleed staff
34 hemophiliacs have contracted hepatitis C allegedly due to lack of proper blood screening measures.
Kashmir, a country located in the southwestern region of India released an all too familiar story yesterday via Greater Kashmir. Up to 34 hemophilia patients who require transfusion of fresh frozen plasma (FPP) have allegedly been given infected plasma containing the hepatitis C virus.
“Due to non-availability of the factor 8 injections at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS), I went for the fresh frozen plasma (FFP) transfusion. At the hospital many of the patients were administered contaminated plasma due to which they developed Hepatitis-C,” a hemophiliac patient, Parvez Ahmed, alleged.
SMHS staff were facing shortages of both factor 8 (hemophilia A) and factor 9 (hemophilia B) at the time of the FFP infusions. “Criminal liability should be fixed on the staff of the blood banks at the hospitals due to whose negligence the Hepatitis-C disease has spread, according to the President of the Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK), Dr. Nisar ul Hassan.
Unbeknownst to many in the western world, many hemophiliacs still face the risk of tainted plasma for the injections they need on a weekly basis. Many countries only have enough of a supply of new factor medications for a certain time period and do still experience shortages throughout the year. WeBleed wishes these patients luck as they begin their hepatitis C treatments.
