A 32-year-old new mother lost her life on June 26th after the wrong blood group was transfused to her. Instead of her own blood group O+, the woman was given the blood group B+ at the Government General Hospital. On June 25, S Akhtar Bano of Tadipatri was admitted for delivery. Following this, she required blood due to high blood loss and low haemoglobin levels after the Cesarean section. One unit of B+ blood was transfused to her, leading to serious complications. She was then shifted to the AMC ward and her family members were not told the reason.

She passed away at 1:15 am. The doctors asked Akhtar Bano’s husband, Habibullah, to take the body home saying she died of cardiac arrest. Habibullah and family members protested with the body at the hospital for three hours as they suspected foul play. After hearing about the incident on the media, the District Collector, S Satyanarayana visited the hospital on June 28th. The hospital staff misled him and had even manipulated records and blood samples. Anantapur Municipal Commissioner P Prasanthi was directed to inquire into the matter. It was found that the case sheet of the patient had been tampered with. Also, Akhtar Bano’s MCH card and Anganwadi card showed that her blood group was O+.

Dr Siva Kumar (Hospital Medical Officer), Dr Harshita (Gynecologist), blood bank technician Murali Mohan and staff nurses Praveena and Rukmini have been suspended by the Collector. They have been held responsible for the incident. GGH Superintendent K Jagannath and pathologist Dr Bhavani were given show cause notices. The deceased's husband, Habibullah, was given Rs 10 lakh by the state government.