A 19-year-old HIV-positive man, who had consumed poison after his blood had infected a pregnant woman in Tamil Nadu, died today.
The man was rescued after he had consumed rat poison at his home in Ramanathapuram district a few days ago. He was shifted to the Madurai Rajaji Government Medical College Hospital where he died of Gastro Intestinal (GI) bleeding.
Police sources at Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram, said that the man, driven the guilt of having donated HIV infected blood, had consumed the poison.
“He was fine but as he saw news that his blood was transfused to a pregnant lady, he thought he should not live and consumed rat poison,” the 19-year-old donor’s mother said.
Immediately after he had consumed the rat poison, his family had rushed him to the Ramanathapuram general hospital from he was shifted to Madurai Rajaji general hospital for treatment on December 27.
Doctors at Madurai’s Rajaji Government Hospital, said the youth died on Sunday morning due to bleeding.
Dr Shanmuga Sundaram, Dean, Madurai Rajaji Government Hospital, said, “He died around 8am on Sunday due to bleeding complication.”
The youngster was unaware of the infection when he had donated blood in November. The test by the government blood bank at Sivakasi had found him to be HIV negative. However, the blood he had donated in 2016 at a private blood donation camp was found to be HIV infected. The counsellors there neither informed nor blacklisted him.
In fact, he himself alerted the officials about his infection after a private laboratory found him to be HIV positive during a medical test for an overseas job. His doctors then traced the pregnant woman who was given his blood and found her infected too.
She's being given antiretroviral treatment in Madurai. The HIV status of her baby would be known only after birth.
The Tamil Nadu government has ordered a probe after suspending two lab technicians and a counsellor. Authorities suspect the technician who claims to have tested him in November did not run the test.