The Civil Police arrested, this Wednesday 16th, the laboratory technician Cleber de Oliveira dos Santosthe fourth investigated for issuing erroneous reports that resulted in the transplantation of HIV-infected organs for six patients in Rio de Janeiro. He was the last fugitive. As a result, all arrest warrants for the operation on Monday the 14th, issued as a result of police investigations, were executed.
In addition to Santos, the police arrested one of the partners at the PCS Lab Saleme laboratory, Walter Vieira, another laboratory technician, Ivanilson Fernandes dos Santos, and employee Jacqueline Iris Bacellar de Assis.
Two donors had wrong HIV reports signed by the laboratorywho was responsible for testing before the organs were destined for transplants in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Patients were considered negative when they were actually positive for the virus. As a result, six patients were infected with HIV as a result of transplants.
After confirming the cases of infection, PCS Lab Saleme was closed by the local Health Surveillance, with technical guidance from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), until the investigations were completed, focusing on the safety of transplants. New pre-transplant exams are being carried out at Hemorio.
The case, unprecedented, is considered serious by the State Department of Health (SES) and the Ministry of Health. Anvisa, state and municipal health surveillance and the National Transplant System (SNT) of the Ministry of Health coordinate a series of actions to investigate HIV infection in transplant patients in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The laboratory had at least three contracts with the Health Foundation. The foundation, linked to the State Department of Health, is responsible for managing the units of the state network.
The laboratory has, among its partners, family members of federal deputy Dr. Luizinho (PP-RJ), who was state secretary of Health from January to September 2023. In a note released by his office last Friday the 11th, the parliamentarian said that when he was secretary he never participated in the choice of this or any laboratory.
(With information from Agência Brasil).
