A statewide crackdown on Jharkhand's healthcare system -- blood banks in particular -- is under way after six children with thalassaemia tested HIV positive following transfusions at a government hospital whose blood bank had been operating without a valid licence since 2023.

A 10-year-old boy with thalassemia was the sixth child to test positive for HIV, with reports on Sunday (November 2) stating he was infected at Koderma Sadar Hospital.