The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has ordered videography of the autopsy of a 19-year-old man, who committed suicide last week after unknowingly donating HIV-infected blood which was later transfused to a pregnant woman.
Justice B Pugalendi gave the direction to the Dean of Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) on Monday on a petition filed by the man’s mother. He also ordered that the autopsy be conducted at the GRH in the presence of two assistant professors from medical colleges of neighbouring districts, PTI newsagency reported.
When he donated the blood on November 30, the man, now deceased did not know that he was HIV positive. He came to know about that only when he went to get series of medical tests done that were a prerequisite for a job that he was applying for in a foreign country. He then informed the blood bank at Sivakasi not to use his blood on any patuent but by then it had already been transfused to a pregnant woman by the first week of December. The mother told the court that when the matter came up for hearing, a few TV channels started flashing her son’s(the blood donor’s) picture, which upset him. Saddened by the entire incident, he consumed poison on December 26, she said.
After taking treatment for three days at the GRH, his condition was normal. But on December 30, he complained of pain in his private parts and was attended to by doctors. He was declared dead two hours later, she said.Alleging that the hospital authorities failed to inform the district collector about her son’s demise, the petitioner raised doubt over the treatment given to him and prayed for a direction to the authorities concerned to videograph the autopsy.
—India Legal Bureau
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