30 patients found HIV-positive after dialysis at Nishtar Hospital; one dies

MULTAN: In what appears to be an alarming incident allegedly caused by sheer medical negligence, one patient died and at least 30 others were found infected with HIV after undergoing dialysis procedures at the nephrology unit at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital.
According to the hospital administration, an HIV-positive patient underwent dialysis at the facility’s nephrology unit, resulting in transmission of the life-threatening virus to other patients through the same machine. 
In response, the hospital has decommissioned two dialysis machines and formed an inquiry committee to investigate the incident.
Hospital officials claim that one patient may have contracted the virus from external blood transfusions, which could have spread the infection.
Initial inquiries show that the hospital administration initially tried to hush up the issue when it was noticed on Oct 26, but it surfaced after one of the patients at the unit died.
As per the standard operating procedures (SOPs), every patient has to undergo blood screening to ascertain they were not infected with any disease that could be transmitted to others, before being put on dialysis machine. However, it seems these SOPs were ignored at the biggest healthcare facility of south Punjab.