68yo woman dies in Bucharest hospital after getting wrong blood

A 68-year-old woman died in a hospital in Bucharest in June following a wrong blood transfusion. The Health Ministry and the Doctors’ College started an investigation in this case.

The woman was admitted to the Hospital for Burnt in Bucharest and died after a blood transfusion that was not compliant with her sanguine group.

“The incident occurred on June 13 and has been reported on June 27. Following transfusion, the woman entered a post transfusion concussion,” said the Health Ministry’s spokesperson Laurentiu Colintineanu.

He announced that checks are under way and the activity of the transfusion ward has been suspended.

“We ordered checks and we suspended the activity of the hospital’s transfusions center. At the moment, if a patient needs a transfusion, he must get in contact with the Transfusion Centre in Bucharest and experts will come to the hospitals to have the blood tests and deliver the blood for that patient. The check took place on July 1^st and the activity has been suspended on July 8^th,” the ministry’s spokesperson informed.

Colintineanu also said that the blood group mistake seems to be the result of a human error and in these circumstances, the Doctors’ College is the only authority with legal responsibilities to check the case.

However, Adrian Stănculea, the head of the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit says the woman’s death was not prompted by the wrong blood transfusion.

“The patient came at the hospital’s emergency room on the night of June 13 to June 14, with an extremely serious injury, as she had been bitten by a dog. The woman was hospitalized and she underwent surgery. She was in a pretty serious conditon, facing an hemorrhagic concussion and she needed some blood products. That night, a procedure error indeed occur, she received blood of another group that her own. The incident has been tracked down, all actions have been taken. The patient remained in hospital for another seven days, she underwent dialysis sessions. So, she died seven days later, and in my view as a doctor, the death is not related to the transfusion incident,” the head of the Intentisive Care Unit said.