AIDS patient forces hospital to come clean

• Source: Global Times
• [02:00 January 21 2010]
• Comments

By Huang Jingjing

A man in Hubei Province who was diagnosed with AIDS learned recently that he, and another 80 patients, got the dreaded disease during blood transfusions in a hospital 13 years ago.

Zhang Kai, a 38-year-old driver from Husi township in the provincial capital Wuhan, was diagnosed with AIDS after he suffered from serious pneu-monia, Wuhan Morning Post reported Wednesday.

The man went to a medical center in September and doctors at the center conducted blood tests that led to the accidental discovery after they learned that he had a blood transfusion at the Daye No 2 Hospital.

Zhang was infected 12 years ago during a blood transfusion at the hospital following a traffic accident in March 1997.

The hospital did not inform the other patients who had blood transfusions around the same time. The patients were unaware of their infection until they suffered from illnesses and sought treatment.

The first victim was discovered in 2002.

Zhang's wife and sons were not infected, but he was nearly isolated from other family members and relatives. The hospital agreed to compensate him 100,000 yuan ($14,643) and cover the treatment for AIDS-related illnesses.

Zhang demanded a monthly subsidy of 600 yuan ($87), and a job for his son.

Zhang's wife was quoted by the paper as saying that the first victim diagnosed with AIDS received 190,000 yuan ($27,822) and 500 yuan ($73) in subsidies a month. A job was reserved for the victim's son in the hospital, the wife said.

The report said more than 80 patients were infected with HIV after getting blood transfusions in the hospital in 1996 and 1997.