Hospital Authority expresses condolences to family of deceased patient
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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Chairman of the Hospital Authority (HA), Mr Anthony Wu, and Acting Chief Executive, Dr Cheung Wai-lun, said they felt deeply sorry for the death of Mr Wong Yun-cheun, a patient of the Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) who passed away early this morning (January 7) after a rare blood transfusion reaction event. Mr Wu and Dr Cheung expressed their deepest condolences to the family of Mr Wong while TMH will provide the family with the necessary support.

     The HA has appointed Professor Yuen Kwok-yung of the University of Hong Kong to chair an expert panel to conduct an in-depth investigation to identify the root cause of the event as early as possible. The findings will be explained in detail to the family and will help prevent the recurrence of a similar event in the future.

     The HA would like to reassure the public that there are well-established blood transfusion guidelines in place to ensure the safety of blood transfusions and all frontline staff have been reminded to strictly observe the transfusion guidelines and report any irregularities found.

Ends/Monday, January 7, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:43

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