HSE contacts 540 mothers over error in baby blood group tests

The HSE has begun contacting 540 mothers and babies who may have had their blood group identified incorrectly in hospital due to a mislabelled testing kit.

The kits were used in five hospitals — Limerick, Galway, Cavan, Sligo, and Dublin’s Rotunda — between February and June.

The HSE said it had recently been notified by the Irish Medicines Board that a field safety notice had been issued as a small number of the testing kits had been mislabelled.

“This means that there is a small chance that the results of some blood group tests may have been incorrectly reported in some cases. The manufacturer has estimated that the potential risk of a kit being labelled incorrectly is less than one in 11m.

“The risk of a baby’s blood group test result being incorrect is extremely low as the manufacturing error related to a label being incorrectly affixed to the test kit.”

According to the HSE, the mislabelling meant 30 mothers may have required anti-D but did not receive it; 220 mothers got anti-D when they may not have required it; 12 babies may have received red blood cells unnecessarily (all in the Rotunda); and 278 babies’ blood group result may have been reported incorrectly (220 in the Rotunda).

Anti-D is given to pregnant women with a rhesus negative blood type.

The HSE said there are no immediate safety concerns. The hospitals have set up dedicated phonelines for those affected. Details are available at 1850 24 1850.