Amitabh Bachchan was infected with Hepatitis B during blood transfusion. Can this happen even today?

By: Poorva Chavan | | Updated: November 25, 2015 10:13 am

Amitabh Bachchan was recently appointed the UNICEF ambassador of the hepatitis B awareness campaign. The actor is also associated with raising awareness about polio and TB. He is the ambassador of the government’s polio awareness campaign called ‘Do Boond Zindagi Ke’ and TB awareness campaign called ‘TB Harega, Desh Jeetega’ campaign. On Monday, Bachchan opened up about his tryst with hepatitis B. He said he was an acute patient of the disease and lost 75% of his liver due to late diagnosis. Speaking during an awareness campaign of the disease, he said that he picked up the infection when he met with an accident while shooting for his movie ‘Coolie’. Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) on hepatitis answered.

He said that over 200 people had donated blood as per the medical requirement. One of the donors was the carrier of the hepatitis virus due to which the donor suffered from the disease too. By the time, he was diagnosed with hepatitis B, only one-fourth of his liver was left. Bachchan also said that while he was lucky to have survived the infection, many in the country are not and he is happy to be a part of the awareness campaign of a deadly disease like Hepatitis. Here s additional information on diagnosis of hepatitis.

Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver which if not treated at the right time can lead to complications like cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer which ultimately leads to liver failure. According to WHO nearly 6,00,000 people lose their lives to either acute or chronic consequences of the disease every year. Hepatitis B is transmitted from an infected person to other through direct blood to blood contact, semen or vaginal fluid. It can also be transmitted from the mother to the baby during birth, unsafe injection practises, unprotected sex, unsafe blood transfusions, and early childhood infections. It is important to note that hepatitis B is not transmitted through infected food or water. Even though the mode of infection of the virus is similar to that of HIV, it is 100 times more potent and causes a lot more damage than HIV.

Blood transfusion–what happens to your blood once you donate it?

Dr Yoganand Patil from Sadguru Charitable Blood Bank says that the FDA has made screening of the blood mandatory before transfusion. The blood is screened for five diseases — HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, VDRL (Venereal Diseases Research Laboratory Tests) and Malaria. The government has made the use of the ELISA method for screening mandatory.

How will you know that the blood is tested?

Dr Patil said that no blood bank can issue the blood without a proper license and mandatory tests. Each blood bag is labelled properly with the date of testing and cross matching report that helps the family of the patient know if the blood is compatible with the patient or not.

So if the blood is screened beforehand how did Amitabh Bachchan get an infection?

Dr Patil explains that all these rules for the screening of blood came into play in 1997. Before 1997, the blood used to be screened but one cannot comment on whether all blood banks used to do it or not. Also, blood transfusion is usually a state of panic and emergency and in such times screening takes a backseat. However, the new law ensures that blood is screened before transfusion.

Does the family of the patient need to replace the blood that is used?

There was a guideline that compelled people to replace donated blood. But from 2012, the Health Ministry stresses on voluntary donation, and there is no rule that requires a family member of the patient to donate blood. Dr Patil says that one of the biggest reason for this change is that voluntary donor are safe, and there are high chances that they are free of diseases.

Image source: Sahil/YouTube

Published : November 24, 2015 10:59 am | Updated:November 25, 2015 10:13 am

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