Jaipur: In a concerning incident Friday, a ‘clerical error’ by the office of Jaipur’s chief medical and health officer (CMHO) could have had serious implications for former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, as his blood type was mistakenly listed as O negative in official correspondence with the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital. The actual blood type of Dhankhar is A positive. The O negative blood type is that of his wife.The mix-up occurred in a letter forwarded by the CMHO office to SMS Hospital, which was intended to ensure that the laid-down medical protocol was followed as Dhankhar was in the city for treatment at a private hospital. Though blood was not required for Dhankhar, the protocol was to be followed. Despite specific instructions from Dhankhar’s private secretary requesting that A positive blood be reserved, a typographical mistake at the CMHO office led to the incorrect blood type being recorded briefly.Acknowledging the error, CMHO (Jaipur-I) Dr Ravi Shekhawat told TOI that it was a “clerical error” and was “corrected immediately”. Shekhawat said, “In accordance with protocol, we are required to keep blood in reserve for the former vice president and his wife. Due to a typographical error Friday, his blood type was incorrectly listed as O negative, when in fact it is A positive. His wife’s blood type is O negative. In our correspondence with SMS Hospital, we mistakenly recorded his blood type under her name. The error was soon corrected.”The CMHO office later sent a revised letter to SMS Hospital to clarify the correct blood type.On Friday, Dhankhar successfully underwent angioplasty at Eternal Hospital, Jaipur, under Dr Samin K Sharma, chairperson and chief of interventional cardiology. The procedure involved the implantation of two stents to treat significant blockages in his coronary arteries. Eternal Hospital officials confirmed that he did not require a blood transfusion during the operation, and he is currently stable and recovering well under medical observation.Dhankhar was experiencing troubling symptoms, including chest heaviness, shortness of breath and intermittent chest pain before the procedure. After a cardiac evaluation at Eternal Hospital, including a stress test and subsequent coronary angiography, doctors discovered significant blockage in one of his coronary arteries, leading to the urgent need for angioplasty.
