Press Releases

SFH deeply concerned about blood transfusion incident

The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, today (August 18) expressed deep concern about a serious blood transfusion reaction event at the Caritas Medical Centre involving a 64-year-old female patient.

The Hospital Authority (HA) reported that the patient concerned had intracerebral haemorrhage after receiving a wrongful blood transfusion earlier this week.

It is suspected the incident was related to incorrect blood typing procedures which led to a mix up of two patients' test results.

Dr Chow expressed his deep regret at the incident and has asked HA to conduct promptly a thorough investigation into the incident.

Noting that HA had updated the blood transfusion procedures in recent years, Dr Chow reiterated that hospital staff should observe strictly the relevant procedures and guidelines to ensure correct blood transfusion for patients.

"HA should also review the procedures for any necessary improvement," he said.



Ends/Thursday, August 18, 2011
Issued at HKT 21:26

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