A TOTAL of 29 mothers and 14 babies who attended University Maternity Hospital Limerick may have been affected by a blood group test kit error, according to figures released by the HSE.
A small number of the Ortho BioVue System Cassettes, which were used between February and June of this year, were said to have been incorrectly labelled.
The error means that there is a small chance that the results of some blood group tests may have been incorrectly reported in some cases.
The Limerick maternity hospital was one of five affected in Ireland alongside Cavan, Sligo, Galway and the Rotunda in Dublin.
As a result, 27 mothers in Limerick were given an injection of the blood product anti-D when they may not have required it, while two who may have required it did not receive the injection.
The HSE also revealed that the blood groups of 14 babies may have been reported incorrectly.
The HSE stressed that there are “no immediate safety concerns” but has advised those affected to contact a dedicated helpline on 1850 24 1850 if they have concerns.
It also pointed out that all patients, including babies, “will always have a repeat blood group test when being admitted to any hospital or in pregnancy”.
The five hospitals began contacting affected mothers last week; letters have been sent to anyone potentially affected by the error.
The blunder, where labels were fixed to the wrong side of the Ortho BioVue testing cassette, first came to light in June when hospitals were notified by manufacturer Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, part of the Johnson and Johnson group.
The kits are routinely used on newborns to determine the blood group at the time of delivery, while anti-D injections are generally given during pregnancy to expectant mothers who are rhesus negative in case their baby is rhesus positive.
