Six patients contracted the HIV virus after undergoing organ transplants in Rio de Janeiro. According to investigations, two donors had a blood test at the PCS Lab laboratory, located in Baixada Fluminense, and the results were false negative.
The State Department of Health of Rio de Janeiro (SES-RJ) ordered the investigation, after the cases were reported. It is the first time that something like this has occurred in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro alone, 16 thousand people have undergone transplants since 2006.
The Civil Police states that the cases of infection of HIV patients after receiving transplanted organs, in Rio de Janeiro, were caused by operational failure, with the aim of making a profit. One of PCS Lab Saleme’s partners, Walter Vieira, was arrested in a Civil Police operation this Monday morning (14).
The Regional Pharmacy Council of Rio de Janeiro (CRF/RJ) stated that the laboratory responsible for the erroneous HIV tests does not have registration as an establishment with the Council.
The Ministry of Health requested the precautionary closure of the PCS Lab Saleme Laboratory after the allegations were made public. The Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) recommended that all tests for transplants in the state be carried out exclusively by Hemorio.
Millionaire contract
The contract, signed by Fundação Saúde do RJ in December 2023, had a duration of 12 months, with a total determined value of R$11,479,459.07. The agreement provided for Patologia Clinica Doutor Saleme Ltda to carry out clinical and pathological anatomy analyses.
In the service provision proposal, PCS Lab states that it understands “routine, urgent and emergency demand” and that it will analyze and carry out exams within the Cavalcanti and Coelho Neto Emergency Medical Care units, in the North of capital of Rio de Janeiro.
The offer mentions hundreds of procedures and, among them, are six types of HIV tests. According to SES-RJ, the contract with the company was suspended after the secretariat became aware of the case.
Investigations and arrests
The Federal Police opened an investigation that will investigate the infection of at least six patients with HIV after transplants in Rio de Janeiro. With the beginning of this investigation, investigators must collect statements from witnesses, representatives of the responsible laboratory and infected patients. There are no predicted dates.
The Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro (MP-RJ) also opened a civil investigation to investigate the irregularities.
One of the partners of the laboratory that carried out the tests was arrested this Monday morning, in Rio de Janeiro. Walter Vieira, partner at PCS Lab Saleme, was arrested by agents from the Consumer Delegation (Decon) of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro during the first phase of Operation “Verum”, launched this morning.
Police action carried out four preventive arrest warrants and 11 search and seizure warrants this morning. In total, 40 agents participate in the action. Ivanildo Fernandes dos Santos, the laboratory’s technical manager, was also arrested in the operation. Furthermore, partner Matheus Sales Teixeira Bandoli Vieira, Walter’s son, was taken by the police to give a statement.
HIV infections occurred due to procedural errors aimed at profit. According to the police, there was an operational decision in the company contracted to carry out the tests, so that the checks on the reagents were changed, aiming to increase profit, to the detriment of the safety of the process. This would have undermined the security of the tests.
The Regional Pharmacy Council of Rio de Janeiro (CRF/RJ) stated that the laboratory responsible for the erroneous HIV tests does not have registration as an establishment with the Council. Furthermore, the supervisory body points out that the laboratory also does not have registered pharmacists, but that the technician in the establishment’s laboratory has active registration with the CRF/RJ.
One of the blood tests carried out by the PCS Lab laboratory on organ donors in the state of Rio de Janeiro, to which the CNN had access to an excerpt, shows that the report was signed by a professional who used the inactive registration of another biomedical doctor . The report was signed in May this year by a professional identified as Jacqueline Iris Bacellar de Assis, however the registration number with the Regional Biomedicine Council used in the signature belongs to another professional and has been inactive since June 2023.
The investigations continue with the clinical reanalysis of another 300 tests, which involve other patients who underwent procedures from the same laboratory, and will be tested again.
Other possible infections will be investigated
The Secretary of State for Health of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudia Mello, informed that 288 donors who underwent HIV tests at the PCS Lab Saleme laboratory between December 2023 and September this year will be retested after errors were found in the results, which resulted in infection. of at least six people after transplants.
“The inspection action determined the closure of the laboratory as a whole. Not just for these exams. It (the laboratory) no longer works in the state and in the country. He cannot provide any service,” he said.
The Ministry of Health requested the precautionary closure of the PCS Lab Saleme laboratory following the complaints. In addition to the ban, the ministry ordered that all organ donor tests be carried out exclusively by Hemorio using the NAT test and ordered the retesting of donor material from the laboratory under investigation.
The ministry also determined that the group of patients receiving organ transplants from infected donors, as well as their contacts, receive full specialized care.
The MP issued a recommendation, on Sunday night (13), for the State Department of Health (SES-RJ) and the Health Foundation to improve conduct in the analysis of blood samples, referring to the State Transplant Center (CET) . The objective is to prevent new cases of transplant patients with infections.
Infectious disease specialist Luana Araújo, in an interview with CNN Prime Time classified the episode as a “one-off and criminal incident”, highlighting that it does not represent a systemic failure in the country’s transplant program.
What the laboratory says
In a note, the PCS Lab laboratory stated that it opened an internal investigation to determine responsibilities. The company states that it will provide “medical and psychological support” to infected patients and their families.
PCS Lab Saleme informed the CNN on another note, which repudiates the alleged existence of a criminal scheme to forge reports within the laboratory. Read below:
“The defense of Walter and Mateus Vieira, partners at PCS Lab Saleme, vehemently repudiates the alleged existence of a criminal scheme to forge reports within the laboratory, a company that has been operating in the market for over 50 years. Both will provide all clarifications to the Court.”
This content was originally published in What we know about wrong tests that caused HIV infection in transplants on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil

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