Bad blood used even after test showed HIV

Crucial
testimony was given as the Commission of Inquiry into the use of AIDS
tainted blood at the K.H.M.H. entered its third day. Ann-Marie Williams
reports from the scene at St. John’s Credit Union in Belize City.

Ann-Marie Williams
“As days go by the testimonies become more intense. That was evident
this morning when phlebotomist Marjorie Mariano took the stand. She says
that she does not feel she’s responsible for the HIV tainted blood that
was transfused to three patients at the K.H.M.H. This afternoon when senior
medical lab technologist Leona Garbutt took the stand, unfortunately,
she couldn’t say the same. She said she thought that it was not her business,
when she found out on March thirtieth that the blood was HIV positive,
to inform anyone.”

A confident Marjorie Mariano under oath this morning told the commission
that on Friday, March thirtieth, she received a call from one Mrs. Robinson
at the Stat Lab, asking for more fresh blood. According to Mariano, she
told her that only the red-tagged untested packs of blood she already
sent across were available. Mariano said she then checked with Garbutt,
who gave the go-ahead to use the blood, which was cleared later that evening.
Leona Garbutt, however, also under oath, denied ever speaking to Mariano.
What she did say was that she told Robinson not to use the two bags of
blood until they were completely screened, as one of the machines was
giving a bit of trouble. Later that night of March thirtieth, Garbutt
says she retested the blood and found it positive for HIV, syphilis and
hepatitis B. Yet, incredibly she said she did not think it was her business
to inform the Blood Bank that the two bags of blood were infected. As
a result, in addition to the transfusion on the night of March thirtieth,
the deadly blood was used two more times on the thirty-first of March
and April first before anyone else knew that the blood was tainted. The
Commission of Inquiry takes a break tomorrow and re-convenes on Friday
at 10:00 with Leona Garbutt taking the stand once again.