UP Government Admits Wrong Blood Transfusion Caused Woman’s Death; Allahabad High Court Orders High-Level Committee to Fix Accountability
By Rajesh Pandey
Prayagraj: In a significant development, the Uttar Pradesh government has acknowledged before the Allahabad High Court that a woman patient at Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital died last year after being administered the wrong blood group during treatment.
Recording the state’s admission, a division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan directed the government to constitute a high-level committee to prevent recurrence of such grave lapses and to fix accountability for the incident.
The order was passed on February 2 while hearing a petition filed by Saurabh Singh, the son of the deceased woman.
Admission of Fatal Medical Error
During the proceedings, the Additional Advocate General (AAG), appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, informed the court that although the patient’s blood group was ‘O’ Positive, she was mistakenly transfused with ‘AB’ Positive blood.
This mismatch led to severe post-operative complications, ultimately resulting in her death.
The court observed that medical documents placed on record prima facie indicated that subsequent treatment administered to the patient appeared to be an attempt to mitigate or counteract the harmful effects of the incorrect transfusion.
The Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital (SRN) functions as the associated teaching hospital of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, a state-run medical institution.
Right to Life and Constitutional Responsibility
Taking a stern view of the matter, the High Court emphasized that the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is a fundamental right. The bench underlined that it is a constitutional obligation of the state and its officials to safeguard this right and ensure that it is not violated.
The court specifically noted that the principal of the concerned medical college bore a direct responsibility to protect the rights and safety of patients admitted to the institution. The admitted facts, the bench remarked, reflected a serious failure in discharging that duty.
Since the state did not dispute that the woman’s death resulted from the transfusion of the wrong blood group, the court observed that it was unnecessary to engage in a detailed adjudication on the issue of negligence.
Directions to Prevent Recurrence
To ensure systemic reform, the court directed the Director General of Medical Education (DGME), Uttar Pradesh — who has been impleaded as the sixth respondent in the case — to instruct the hospital administration to form a committee.
This committee is to be chaired by the principal of the medical college and include members from various departments. Its mandate will be to:
- Examine existing medical protocols and infrastructure,
- Collect relevant data,
- Identify gaps in systems and procedures,
- Recommend measures to strengthen patient safety and institutional functioning.
The court made it clear that the committee must ensure that such tragic incidents do not occur in the future due to a lack of facilities or the absence of effective monitoring mechanisms.
Mandatory Report and Accountability
The bench ordered that a comprehensive report detailing necessary infrastructural and procedural reforms be submitted to the Director General within five weeks.
It further directed that the DGME must extend all required financial and administrative support to implement the recommended safety measures.
Additionally, the principal of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College has been instructed to file a personal affidavit placing on record the committee’s report along with the response of the Director General.
The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on March 23, 2026.
The case has once again brought into sharp focus the urgent need for strict medical protocols and institutional accountability in public healthcare systems.
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