Coroner hears no O-negative blood for emergency surgery

A verdict of medical misadventure has been returned at the inquest of a Dublin woman who had to wait almost 40 minutes for a blood transfusion after she suffered severe bleeding following an emergency birth.

Nora Hyland (31), a Malaysian woman, died on the operating table at the National Maternity Hospital (NMH), Holles Street, on February 13th, 2012, within three hours of undergoing an emergency C-section to deliver her son Frederick.

Dublin coroner Dr Brian Farrell found the cause of death was a cardiac arrest as a result of severe post- partum haemorrhage. However, he said he could not say that the delay in Mrs Hyland receiving blood was a “definite” risk factor in her death.

The inquest previously heard that a labelling error in the lab contributed to a 37-minute delay in Mrs Hyland receiving a transfusion. No emergency supply units of O-negative, the universal blood type, were kept in NMH operating theatres at the the time.

The master of Holles Street, Dr Rhona Mahony, gave evidence that she didn’t believe Mrs Hyland had a heart attack as a result of hypovolemia – a drop in blood volume. The NMH has since installed a fridge holding emergency blood units in theatre.