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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) announced the following transfusion incident today (23 July 2008):
A premature newborn baby boy was found having received blood transfusion with inappropriate blood group on 18 July 2008. Immediate blood tests and clinical assessment showed no complication or adverse reaction had resulted from the incident. The baby is still hospitalised and in stable condition. He will continue to be closely monitored. The hospital had clearly explained the incident and conveyed apology to the parents.
In general, newborn babies might contain some of the mother's blood group antibodies in their blood, though it will diminish with time. If these babies need a transfusion, blood units of blood group compatible with both the mother and the baby will be selected to avoid haemolysis due to reaction of maternal antibodies on donor red cells.
The baby in this incident is of group "B" and his mother group "O". He still carries a small amount of his mother's anti-B antibodies at birth. According to the protocol, group "O" blood should be chosen for transfusion. On the day of incident (18 July 2008), the Pathology Department on checking of transfusion record found that the baby had received group "B" blood five day after birth. Immediate blood tests and review of serial laboratory test results showed that there was only a very low and falling level of the mother's anti-B antibodies remaining in the babyˇ¦s blood before the transfusion. Clinical examination did not show any adverse reaction.
After the incident, the case was reported to the hospital management and Hospital Authority (HA) according to the HA Sentinel Event Policy. The hospital has reviewed the procedure and checking mechanisms for crossmatching in newborns, and reinforced the awareness of the staff on the operation procedures.
The hospital has set up an investigation team to review the crossmatching procedure in the blood bank for newborns and other special cases as well as the checking mechanisms to avoid recurrence in the future. The staff involved in the incident has been counseled.
Ends/Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Issued at HKT 21:11
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