Dengue patient dies after being transfused with fruit juice instead of platelets

A dengue patient in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh died after allegedly being administered sweet lemon juice instead of blood platelets.

The bizarre incident was reported from the city of Prayagraj after a video of the incident went viral on the internet over the weekend. The deceased, identified as 32-year-old Pradeep Pandey, was admitted to Global Hospital and Trauma Centre on October 14.

"We were told he has dengue after tests were done. On October 16, we were told that he needed eight units of platelets. We managed to arrange three units from within the family," Saurabh Tripathi, the victim's brother-in-law, told The Indian Express.

The family then paid Rs 25,000 (£270) to the hospital building owner's son to arrange five more units of the same. Pandey's condition continued to deteriorate despite the hospital having administered platelets to him.

He was taken to a different hospital but could not be saved. The doctors at the second hospital informed Pandey's relatives that the platelet bag was fake and it instead had juice in it.

"When the four units of platelets were given to my brother-in-law, his condition worsened. Then we took him to another private hospital. The doctors there said there was some blood clotting in the body," added Tripathi.

Meanwhile, the owner of Global Hospital where the alleged incident took place has said that the platelets were brought from a different medical facility.

"They brought five units of platelets from SRN Hospital. After the transfusion of three units, the patient had a reaction. So, we stopped it," he said, adding that a probe must be conducted to find out the origin of the fake platelet units.

The state government has ordered the sealing of the hospital and a three-member panel has been formed to investigate the incident. However, no FIR has been registered against the hospital administration yet.