“My Son Will Live with HIV Forever” – Distraught Father Blames Edo Clinic After Toddler Contracts HIV Through Transfusion
Praise Mumbor is demanding justice after a devastating diagnosis confirmed his one-year-and-nine-month-old son, Jeremiah, contracted HIV following a blood transfusion at Safe Bliss Medical Centre in Benin City, Edo State.
Neither Praise nor his wife, Elisa, is HIV-positive. The inf+ction only surfaced after the boy received transfused blood on February 6, 2025, when he was rushed to the clinic critically ill. Despite offering to donate blood, the clinic declined, citing unavailability of staff to screen him, and insisted on sourcing blood from a bank,for which he paid ₦40,000.
A second transfusion occurred in May after the child fell ill again. Soon after, his health deteriorated, leading the family to Edo Specialist Hospital, where he tested HIV-positive.
The Military Hospital and Central Hospital later confirmed the result, while both parents tested negative. “The lab official told me he ran the test twice. Both were positive. That means my son will live with HIV forever,” the heartbr+ken father said.
Praise alleged that the private hospital rejected initial efforts to resolve the issue through the Edo State Ministry of Justice, refusing to appear at meetings until compelled. The owner, he said, eventually responded through lawyers and denied liability, insisting the family pursue the matter in court.
Following this, the Mumbors filed a police report. At the police station, the clinic owner, her lawyers, and a lab representative gave their accounts. Police say an investigation is ongoing.
Human rights advocate Comrade Glory Omonigho has called it a public health emergency and urged the Ministry of Health, NACA, and other authorities to act. He also confirmed the clinic has been sealed for operating without a valid licence. “All I want is justice,” Mumbor said. “My son didn’t deserve this.”
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