CINCINNATI — A Lockland couple claims staff at Good Samaritan Hospital gave their newborn daughter an incompatible blood transfusion and didn't tell them about it.
Allysa Gilbert said when she gave birth to her twin daughters in May, she trusted her nurses and doctors to take care of her children.
Instead, she said staff made a mistake that put her newborn Emmie in danger.
"As soon as they took her to the NICU, the ball was dropped," Gilbert said.
She and her husband Damian said doctors told them Emmie needed a blood transfusion.
WATCH: Hear why the Gilberts say hospital staff dropped the ball with their daughter's medical treatment:
Emmie is Kell- and Kidd-positive. Those are rare antigens found in the blood of less than 10% of people.
It means Emmie needs Kell- and Kidd-negative blood so antibodies won't attack her body.
But medical records the Gilberts shared with WCPO 9 show a nurse administered an unscreened bag of O-negative blood, which was Kell- and Kidd-positive and not compatible with Emmie's body.
“An hour to an hour and a half went by, 12 (milliliters) was administered before they realized it was the wrong blood," Damian Gilbert said.
The Gilberts said no one at Good Samaritan Hospital told them about the error.
They said they also weren't told that their twins had been transferred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
They said they didn't find out about the botched blood transfusion until staff at Children's told them.
“That’s a mistake," Allysa Gilbert said. "A big mistake. You gave a baby incompatible blood.”
The Gilberts said they have since met with staff at Good Samaritan Hospital to talk about what went wrong, but they said they feel the hospital hasn't done enough to rectify what happened.
We reached out to the hospital about the situation and were sent the following statement by a TriHealth spokesperson:
Good Samaritan has a long-standing commitment to serving the most vulnerable members of our communities, especially infants. We are aware of the concerns and frustration Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert have publicly shared regarding Good Samaritan Hospital. Our senior clinical and administrative leaders have met with the family multiple times to listen to their concerns and answer their questions. While patient privacy laws prevent us from publicly discussing the details of any patient’s care, our focus remains on supporting all families with compassion and transparency. Maintaining and building upon the trust placed in us every day is how we fulfill our mission.
“Sorry isn’t enough," Allysa Gilbert said. "She could have died."
Luckily, little Emmie is doing just fine. However, her parents are sharing her story to make sure this mistake doesn't happen again.
“Thankfully, this was best-case scenario, but it easily could have not been," Allysa Gilbert said.
