Sensitive blood donor records reported stolen from Bengaluru hospital

Confidential records containing sensitive medical information about blood donors were allegedly stolen from the blood bank of Bengaluru’s Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology. The documents were kept in a cupboard in the Transfusion Transmitted Infection section, according to a complaint filed by the blood bank’s in-charge medical officer. A junior lab technologist had placed records for May, June and July in the cupboard at about 4 p.m.

on September 24. When staff returned the following morning, they found the cupboard open and the records missing. The documents reportedly contained information relating to HIV, hepatitis C, hepatitis B surface antigen and other tests connected with blood transfusions.

The complaint states that an unidentified person entered the institute without authorisation and removed the confidential material. It does not identify a suspect or indicate whether the records have been recovered. Police have registered a case under Sections 305(a), 331(1) and 331(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

An investigation is under way to identify the person involved and recover the documents. A police officer said there was no CCTV footage in or around the relevant area. Investigators have therefore resorted to conventional investigative methods, the officer said.

The report did not say how many donors’ records were affected or whether the information had been copied, disclosed or misused. The case concerns records held by the hospital’s blood bank and includes medical test details that were described as confidential. The investigation is expected to establish how the person entered the facility, how the cupboard was accessed and what happened to the stolen documents.