The hunt is on to nab the culprits who had supplied blood not tested for HIV. This blood was to be used for a 12-year-old, but timely intervention by the SDM Dental College doctors prevented a possible tragedy.

The blood was obtained from a ward boy at the Karnataka Cancer Institute and Research Centre by the patients' brother. On receiving the complaint from the SDM College, the Cancer Institute conducted an inquiry and terminated the ward boy. But neither of these two institutes sent a complaint against this criminal offense to the Drugs Control Authority or to the police.

The complaint was received from the Dharwad District Employees Association, secretary M Ramarao who sent a letter to the assistant drugs controller, the police commissioner, and also to the Health Minister on January 23. The causewas the sale of two blood bags of 300 ml of blood, which had been sold to one Nagalingappa, for Rs 1,000 each. The blood was needed for his 12-year-old sister Ratnamma who had been admitted in the Craniofacial Surgery and Research Centre of the SDM Dental College.

The blood bags did not have any label and had only numbers 263 and 485 on them. They did not bear the compatibility and serological status, no seal and no particulars regarding the origin of the blood.

Prof K Gopalakrishnan, consultant, who had asked the relative to bring the blood for his patient, had given Nagalingappa a letter or requisition for B +ve blood and sample of the patients blood and sent him to the Cancer Institute, on November 11, 1998. According to Nagalingappa, the blood bank officials in the institute insisted that he donate two bags of blood in exchange for the blood that would be given him.

He refused and was returning without the blood when a ward boy, Altaf Malekoppa, told him to wait and accompanied him after workinghours to nearby hospital, where he was made to wait for another two hours and was given the blood after parting with Rs 2,000.

The blood was not used by Gopalkrishnan, who immediately wrote to the Cancer Institute about the incident and urged the Medical Superintendent and the Chairman, Dr R B Patil to look into the matter. He did not inform the Drugs Control Office or the Blood Bank and Vigilance Wing.

Following this, an inquiry was conducted and one of the bags was brought back and stored as evidence. The institute concluded that the matter was serious enough to warrant the dismissal of the ward boy. During the deposition, the boy had claimed that he got the blood from a nearby hospital. However, he did not have any proof to support the claim. The matter was given up as solved, according to the Administrator Shakpurkar. He told the The Indian Express that since they did not have any proof about the case, they did not inform the Drugs Control Authority.

When contacted, the doctor said it was aplot by the Employees Union against him and that he did not have anything to do with the case. The ward boy, Altaf, had come to him pleading for a receipt to save his job, which he refused to give. He said he was going to open a licenced blood bank within a few days. He had been running a blood bank, but claimed that he had stopped it two years ago.