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A 13-year-old South African boy who tested HIV positive following a blood transfusion might well receive state-funded antiretroviral drugs.
The hospital where Johan Stoop received the transfusion said it would ask the provincial government for permission to provide HIV/AIDS treatment, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported on Thursday.
The hospital chief executive, Dr Ernest Kenoshi, said he will refer Johan to an AIDS specialist to determine whether antiretroviral treatment should be started right away.
"We are in contact with the health department's provincial office and will try and secure permission for antiretroviral drugs once he needs them," Kenoshi said.
Meanwhile, the South African Blood Transfusion Services medical director, Dr Robert Crookes, said the organisation was sympathetic but could not be held legally liable as the virus was difficult to detect if a donor was in the window-period of infection.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
