20-year-old dies after botched medical procedure

London: A young woman died in hospital after waiting almost two hours for a blood transfusion that could have saved her.

Sally Thompson, 20, bled to death after a doctor accidentally punctured her jugular vein during a bungled procedure.

Despite an urgent request to the blood bank at Manchester Royal Infirmary, she died one hour and 45 minutes later, before any arrived. Speaking after her inquest, her father John, 62, said she would still be alive if the blood had been available sooner.

The retired farmer said: "This hospital is supposed to be the cornerstone of the NHS [National Health Service] in Manchester, but they couldn't get any blood for two hours. We have never had any answers about why it took so long. I feel very let down by the hospital."

Coroner Nigel Meadows said the inability to supply the blood was a 'significant failure' and he would write to hospital bosses.

If a patient needs a transfusion, blood is tested first by type and then further tests, known as crossmatching, are performed to check antibodies in the blood.

But in an emergency when there is no time for crossmatching, blood of the same type as the patient's - in Thompson's case O-negative, one of the most common types - can be given.