A couple in Benin City, Edo State, is demanding answers and justice after their 19-month-old baby tested positive for HIV, despite both parents being confirmed HIV-negative.
Mr. and Mrs. Praise Mumbor said their first child, Jeremiah, may have contracted the virus after receiving two blood transfusions at a private hospital, Safe Bliss Medical Centre, earlier this year.
The baby was first admitted to the hospital on February 6, 2025, with high fever and dangerously low blood levels. Doctors recommended an urgent blood transfusion, which the family paid ₦40,000 for. After the procedure, Jeremiah was discharged.
Two months later, on May 5, the child fell sick again. The hospital again recommended another transfusion. Mr. Mumbor offered to donate blood himself but was told the laboratory staff had closed for the day. He eventually paid ₦35,000 for another unit of blood, and the child was treated and discharged.
However, when the child’s health did not improve, the family took him to Edo Specialist Hospital. There, a series of tests revealed Jeremiah had contracted HIV. Shocking both parents, tests later confirmed that Mr. and Mrs. Mumbor were HIV-negative.
A doctor at the specialist hospital, who did not want to be named, said, “We had to run thorough screening on the couple. Results confirmed they are HIV-negative. So, the possible explanation is the transfused blood.”
Mr. Mumbor, devastated by the diagnosis, accused the private hospital of medical negligence. “My wife and I do not have HIV. How come our baby does?” he said. “He’s our first child and will be two years old in September. We are heartbroken.”
In response, the medical director of Safe Bliss Medical Centre, Dr. Adesotu Humphrey, insisted that all procedures were followed and said an independent investigation had been launched. He also claimed the baby had tested HIV-negative before the transfusion and denied stopping the father from donating blood.
The Mumbor family has since petitioned the Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Samson Osagie, demanding full investigation and justice.
The incident has sparked fresh concerns over blood safety and regulation in Nigeria’s healthcare system, especially in private hospitals.
