NAJRAN — An investigation into the death of a young woman at King Khaled Hospital in Najran after being given a blood transfusion has revealed the transfusion was not to blame. Hospital director Dr. Abdo Hassan Al-Zubaidi said the consultation committee formed by Dr. Saleh Saeed Al-Mounis, Director of the Health Affairs in Najran, to look into the death of the 23-year-old Saeeda found treating doctors were not negligent. After examining her medical records the committee cleared those treating her of negligence and said the victim died of toxemia, blood poisoning by toxins from a local bacterial infection. Al-Zubaidi said the woman's symptoms were typical of sepsis and that her family had even told doctors they suspected she had been suffering from the condition. The hospital director said he read the report published by Okaz and Saudi Gazette that quoted the family accusing the hospital of giving the victim contaminated blood, and dismissed the claims as baseless. He said the complications the woman suffered from had nothing to do with the blood transfusion, adding she had been suffering from symptoms of severe anemia and an infection in the upper respiratory tract. He said she was treated with a blood transfusion from the hospital's blood bank and antibiotics. He said the blood transfusion had improved her condition and she had requested the treating doctor to discharge her. The doctor explained to her this would endanger her life so she signed a waiver relieving the hospital of any responsibility in the presence of the hospital's social worker. He said the very next day the woman was readmitted and immediately sent to the intensive care unit as she developed a severe infection in her respiratory tract. Her condition worsened and she was pronounced dead after a few hours. He said this provides tangible evidence that her death had nothing to do with the blood transfusion, adding her wish for an early discharge probably caused her death. Al-Zubaidi said the hospital's blood bank has the most sophisticated medical equipment. The bank is run by a highly qualified medical team and has been accredited, he added. He criticized the media and said reporters should get their facts correct instead of creating what he called “an unnecessary fuss” that misled the public.
