Three patients with thalassemia were transfused with spoiled blood after a refrigerator used for blood storage at the Thalassemia Center malfunctioned.
Adhadhu has learned that the blood stored at the Thalassemia Center spoiled following a temperature regulation issue with the refrigerator last Sunday night.
But some nurses at the center, unaware of the malfunction, proceeded to administer the spoiled blood to three patients on Monday.
The refrigerators at the Thalassemia Center are equipped with sensors designed to trigger an alarm if temperatures rise or fall beyond the safety threshold. When the alarm sounded on Sunday night, the blood bags were reportedly moved to another fridge.
Speaking to Adhadhu, the Director General of the Maldivian Blood Services (MBS), Ahmeem Farish, stated that while efforts were underway Monday morning to check the status of the blood bags following the malfunction, nurses who had not been informed of the issue administered the blood to the three patients.
Farish noted that the error was only discovered after the patients had returned home. He stated that while two of the families were contacted immediately, the third family could not be reached initially, resulting in a delay in informing them.
Acknowledging that the incident was the result of a communication breakdown, Farish offered an apology to the affected families. He assured that measures would be taken to ensure that families are notified immediately should such an incident occur in the future.
"It was a communication error. Before we could instruct the nurses not to use the blood, or the logs could be fully checked, other nurses had already administered it. Three bags were used," he said.
Farish added that due to recurring issues with the storage units, efforts are underway to procure new refrigerators from abroad. In the meantime, the center is working to acquire a spare refrigerator currently not in use at the Addu Equatorial Hospital.
He further confirmed that all three patients who received the spoiled blood are currently in stable condition.
