Rewa hospital blood bank accused of refusing donor over caste, administration denies allegation

Rewa: The family of a patient admitted to a government-run medical college hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa has alleged that blood bank staff refused to accept blood from an acquaintance because he belonged to a different caste.

The hospital administration, however, has denied the allegation, stating that potential donors were rejected due to medical reasons.

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The incident reportedly took place on Tuesday, September 22, at the government-run hospital under Shyam Shah Medical College, where a girl from Sidhi district was undergoing treatment and reportedly required an urgent blood transfusion.

According to the family, they approached an acquaintance to donate blood after a family member below 17 years of age was not permitted to donate.

Speaking to the Hindu, the patient’s uncle said, “When we took him to the blood bank, the doctor there asked him where he had come from and said that ‘you are a Pandey and she [the patient] is a Vaishya, it won’t work’. He asked us to bring a relative or someone from our own caste or get written permission from our doctor.”

He further claimed that the treating doctor had initially told the family that they could donate blood to the blood bank and receive a matching unit for the patient. However, when they returned, they were allegedly asked to arrange matching blood.

Another relative said the family was struggling to arrange a donor as the patient required blood urgently. “They are refusing to take his [Mr. Pandey’s] blood. I have to undergo an operation in some time, so I am not allowed. Where should we now go and find more people?” he said.

Meanwhile, the hospital superintendent rejected the allegations and said that an inquiry has been conducted into the matter.

The medical college’s blood bank in-charge, who conducted the inquiry, said caste or religion is not considered when accepting blood donations. He said two people had accompanied the family, but both had medical issues that required consideration before donation.

According to the Hindu, “This is a very serious matter which has come to my attention. When I enquired about it and found out that two people had come with the family. One of them was a high-risk behaviour; I will not disclose it due to rules. The other person was a hernia patient, so the doctor on duty said that he could donate if he was not planning on getting his hernia operated on,” the blood bank in-charge said in a video statement.

He said the family was counselled to bring a family member or someone whose health history they were aware of. He termed the allegation that caste was a factor in rejecting the donor as false and said the family may have misunderstood the conversation amid concern over the patient's condition.

A senior doctor at the hospital also claimed that the donor whose blood was rejected had consumed alcohol the previous night and that the blood was therefore considered unsuitable for transfusion.

The hospital administration has maintained that the rejection of the donors was based on medical safety considerations and not caste.

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