Activist Writes To Health Ministry To Probe Blood Donation At AIIMS By Bhim Army Chief Who Suffers From Polycythemia

An activist has written to the health ministry and the management of AIIMS-Delhi, urging them to probe the recent blood donation by Chandrashekhar Azad, the chief of a dalit outfit called ‘Bhim Army’.

The letter says:

“Two weeks ago, we saw pictures of Chandrashekhar Azad (who heads an outfit called Bhim Army and a political party called Azad Samaj Party), donating blood at Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center at AIIMS. His doctor, Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, shared the pictures on Facebook...”

“This is shocking. Media has reported time and again that Azad is suffering from a disease called Polycythemia, which is a blood disorder, and blood of such a person can not be transfused to a patient.”

The letter refers to a recent Twitter post by a doctor, Prashant Sharma, who first raised the issue on social media.

“Today Chandra Shekhar Azad donated blood with Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti ..he is suffering from polycythemia Vera a blood disorder. Can this blood be transfused to a patient. Is this a mere publicity stunt and risking life of a person.. Will Dr bhatti be held legally responsible,” Sharma’s post, which carried relevant screenshots, said.

The letter also gives links to several news reports on the health condition of Azad.

One of those reports, by India Today, says, “Chandrashekhar Azad is suffering from polycythemia, a condition in which the body makes too many red blood cells.”

In the letter, the activist has urged the authorities to probe whether Azad and his doctor hid his medical condition from AIIMS before donating blood, whether AIIMS did not follow due protocol before accepting blood from him, and what happened to the donated blood.

The letter says, “there appears to be a major lapse on the part of AIIMS-Delhi” that “can jeopardize the health and safety of many patients”.

The activist, Prerna Thiruvaipati, is member of an organisation called ‘All India Dalit Youth Association’.

She also tweeted out her letter:

Swarajya sent several messages to the spokesperson of AIIMS to comment on the issue, but has received no reply.

The spokesperson had asked Swarajya to send the questions on WhatsApp, which we did, but the spokesperson has not responded to the messages.

A look at the timeline of Azad’s doctor, Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, shows that the posts regarding the said blood donation have been taken down.

Neither Bhatti or Azad have responded to Prashant Sharma’s post that first flagged the issue in public.