"Once detected, treatment was started immediately"
Parents of children with thalassemia in India say they are devastated after life-saving blood transfusions left their children HIV-positive.
Families say they are now confronting serious illness, deep social stigma and an uncertain future for their children.
Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder that causes severe anaemia and requires regular blood transfusions to survive.
Authorities in Madhya Pradesh confirmed that five children with thalassemia have tested positive for HIV.
The children, aged between three and 15, are from Satna district. A committee has been set up to investigate the cases.
Although the infections were detected during routine screening between January and May 2025, they gained wider attention after local media reports.
The cases follow a similar incident in Jharkhand weeks earlier, where five children with thalassemia, all under eight, tested HIV-positive.
Those infections were linked to blood transfusions at a state-run hospital, raising broader concerns about transfusion safety.
HIV spreads through unprotected sex, unsafe medical practices, infected blood transfusions, or from mother to child.
While no longer considered a death sentence, HIV requires lifelong treatment and careful medical management.
India has more than 2.5 million people living with HIV, with around 66,400 new infections each year, government data shows.
More than 1.6 million people are currently receiving lifelong treatment at antiretroviral therapy centres across the country.
Satna district collector Satish Kumar S said the five affected children received blood transfusions at different locations.
According to health officials, these involved multiple donors and a mix of government hospitals and private clinics.
Officials said all five children are now receiving treatment and are being closely monitored.
In one case, officials said both parents of a three-year-old child were HIV-positive.
In the remaining cases, parents tested negative, ruling out mother-to-child transmission.
Satna’s chief medical and health officer Manoj Shukla said children receiving multiple transfusions are considered high-risk.
He said they are routinely screened for HIV as part of standard medical protocol.
Dr Shukla added: “Once detected, treatment was started immediately and is continuing. At present, the children are stable.”
Dr Shukla said every unit of blood issued by the district hospital’s blood bank is tested under government guidelines.
Blood is released only after a negative test report, he added.
However, he said rare cases can occur when donors are in the early stages of HIV infection. Dr Shukla said such donors may initially test negative but later turn positive.
Incidents of thalassemia patients contracting HIV during treatment are not new in India.
In October, after similar cases in Jharkhand, authorities suspended several hospital staff.
Those suspended included a lab assistant, the doctor in charge of the HIV unit and the hospital’s chief surgeon.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also announced financial assistance for affected families.
Each family was offered 200,000 rupees (£1,655) following the incident.
In 2011, Gujarat authorities launched an investigation after 23 children with thalassemia tested HIV-positive.
Those infections followed regular blood transfusions at a public hospital in the state.
Last week, thalassemia patients urged India’s parliament to pass the National Blood Transfusion Bill 2025.
They said the bill would strengthen the regulation of blood collection, testing and transfusion practices.
Campaigners, including patients infected through unsafe transfusions, described the bill as long overdue. They said it could ensure safer, quality-assured blood for people reliant on frequent transfusions.
HIV continues to carry a strong social stigma in India, often leading to discrimination and exclusion.
In Jharkhand, the family of a seven-year-old boy said they were forced to leave their rented home.
The child’s father said the landlord demanded they vacate after learning about the boy’s HIV status.
He said: “I tried to convince them a lot, but they remained adamant on getting the house vacated. So, I had to return to my village, about 27km away.
“In the village, it is not only a challenge for my son to get better health facilities, but he is also deprived of a good education.”
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