Wrong blood or wrong label? Dhubri medical college row triggers probe amid family's negligence charge

A controversy has erupted at Dhubri Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) after the family of a 61-year-old patient alleged that he was administered blood of the wrong group during treatment. 

While the family has demanded a high-level inquiry, hospital authorities have denied any mismatch in the transfusion, attributing the incident to a clerical labelling error at the blood bank.

The patient, Abu Bakkar Siddique (61), a resident of Kutkutarbhita village under Bagribari Police Station, was admitted to DMCH on July 1 with severe anaemia. According to hospital authorities, Siddique's haemoglobin level was critically low, prompting doctors to recommend transfusion of three units of blood.

The family alleged that the patient's condition worsened after the first unit of blood was transfused, following which he was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). They claimed that while preparing for the second transfusion, they discovered that the requisition slip mentioned B-positive blood despite the patient being O-positive, raising fears that an incompatible blood group had been issued.

Siddique is currently undergoing treatment in the ICU. His family has demanded an independent, high-level investigation into the incident and action against those responsible if negligence is established.

Rejecting the allegations, DMCH Superintendent Dr. Gunajit Das said an internal verification confirmed that the patient had received O-positive blood and not B-positive blood.

"Scientific verification, including examination of the blood bank register, preserved blood bag segments and repeat testing, has confirmed that the patient was transfused with O-positive blood. There was no wrong blood transfusion," Dr. Das said.

He explained that the confusion stemmed from a clerical mistake by a blood bank technician, who accidentally attached a B-positive label to documentation relating to an O-positive blood unit.

"The blood grouping and compatibility tests were correctly performed. The mistake occurred only in the labelling of the documents and not in the blood actually transfused to the patient," he added.

Hospital Principal Dr. Anku Moni Saikia also maintained that no mismatched transfusion had taken place.

"We acknowledge that there was a clerical error in labelling, but there was no medical error in the blood transfusion itself. Patient safety remains our highest priority," she said.

She added that the hospital had requested the District Commissioner to order an external inquiry and had also sent blood samples to Kokrajhar Medical College and Hospital for independent verification. According to her, all test results were normal.

The incident has sparked concern among residents in Dhubri, with the patient's family continuing to press for an independent probe even as hospital authorities insist the episode was a documentation lapse rather than a case of wrong blood transfusion.