Nearly a month after a pregnant woman from Sattur was transfused with his HIV infected blood, the 19-year-old blood donor attempted suicide by consuming rat poison a couple of days ago. He was being treated at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, where he breathed his last on December 30.

The teenager hailed from a village in the Ramanathapuram district. He donated his blood two years ago, when he was unaware of his condition. The HIV infected blood was transfused to a 23-year-old pregnant woman at Sattur, who has now contracted HIV. The donor, who was recently informed of his HIV status, contacted the hospital officials immediately and reported the same. However, it was proven too late as the transfusion process was already done.

Unable to cope with the reality of what had happened as a result of his compassionate gesture, the 19-year-old consumed poison on Wednesday morning. He was admitted in the intensive care unit, where he apparently responded to treatment. Unfortunately, he died after vomiting blood on Sunday morning.

The 23-year-old pregnant woman who was transfused with HIV infected blood is currently under Anti-retroviral therapy, in an effort to fight the virus from replicating. Following their negligence at the Sivakasi Government Hospital, Health Officials terminated the services of the lab technician who gave the daily report, the counsellor who did not identify that the donor was in the high-risk category, and the blood bank's medical officer.