CINCINNATI, Ohio — Damian and Allysa Gilbert thought their twin daughters were safe.
Winnie and Emmie, just three months old, were patients in the NICU at Good Samaritan Hospital when the Gilberts say a nurse made a decision that would turn their lives upside down.
According to the parents, the nurse picked up an unscreened bag of O-negative blood and administered it to baby Emmie — without a doctor’s order, and without telling the parents anything was even happening.
The Wrong Blood Was Already Entering Her Body
Emmie needed Kell-positive blood. What she received, her parents say, was blood her tiny body could not handle.
“Basically they gave her blood that was attacking her body and making her go anemic,” Allysa Gilbert said.
For roughly 90 minutes, no one stopped it. By the time staff caught the error and called an emergency halt, Emmie had already received 12 milliliters of incompatible blood.
The damage had already begun.
Mom and Dad Were the Last to Find Out
The Gilberts were not told when the transfusion started. They were not called when the error was discovered.
Then Emmie was emergency transferred to the University of Cincinnati’s NICU — and again, her parents say, no one reached out to inform them until after it had already happened.
They pieced together what occurred hours later, at a completely different hospital, far from where their daughter had been when the mistake was made.
“The nurse went upon herself to grab another bag of O-negative blood that wasn’t screened and just gave it to her when she was completely 100% stable,” Allysa said.
The Hospital Is Not Talking
When asked about the incident, Good Samaritan Hospital released a short statement pointing to patient privacy laws — and said nothing more.
For the Gilberts, that silence has gone on long enough.
“I just want answers. I need to know that this will never happen to another baby,” Allysa said. “I need to know that the doctor and nurse who did this will be held accountable. I need to know that next time something happens, they are going to tell the parents.”
Three months have passed since that night in the NICU. The family is still waiting.
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