Pakistani blood transfusions spreading hepatitis, HIV: official
By Katharine Houreld ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Lax oversight of blood banks means about a fifth of patients in Pakistan who get regular transfusions have been infected with hepatitis, a top government health official said on Friday. Some also get HIV. Pakistan's dangerously unregulated blood banks are in the spotlight after a charitable federation said 10 children getting transfusions for a blood disease contracted HIV. About 22,000 children with thalassaemia, which causes low levels of protein in the blood, get regular transfusions, the Thalassaemia Federation of Pakistan said. …
