Chennai: A 24-year-old Tamil Nadu woman, who was transfused with HIV positive blood at a government hospital in Sattur, gave birth to a baby girl in Madurai.

According to the doctors' report, the baby is underweight, but she is doing fine. The virus status in the baby girl can be confirmed only after 45 days, the report said.

Currently, the baby weighs about 1.75 kg. But, for a newborn baby, 2.5 to 3.5 kg is considered to be a healthy weight.

In December 2018, the woman tested positive for HIV after she underwent a blood transfusion at Sattur government hospital in Tamil Nadu. The doctors then had said that the red blood cells in her body were low and had recommended a blood transfusion.

The 19-year-old boy, who donated his HIV-infected blood in a government hospital in Tamil Nadu committed suicide. As he was unaware of the infection, the boy got to know about the same during a medical check-up for an overseas job.

Regretting his mistake, the boy then consumed rat poison at his residence in Ramanathapuram and died three days after he was hospitalised.

The incident drew widespread condemnation from opposition parties in the state. Three lab technicians were suspended for negligence at the hospital blood bank. They had initially marked the boy’s blood as safe.

The HIV virus is usually transmitted through sexual intercourse, infected blood transfusion and from an infected mother to the baby in her womb or through breastfeeding.

Also read: HIV-infected blood donor dies after attempting suicide in Tamil Nadu