Kathmandu, May 7 -- The death of a young girl at Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center, allegedly due to an acute hemolytic transfusion reaction, has raised serious concerns over safety procedures at the country's leading cardiac centre.

Five-year-old Aakriti Kumari Sah of Sisaudiya Municipality in Sarlahi district was discovered to have a double-chambered right ventricle, a rare congenital heart condition, and was admitted to the hospital on April 26. She underwent surgery on April 30 and died the same day, allegedly due to a mismatch in her blood group. Hospital officials blamed a "clerical error".

"We have formed a four-member team to investigate and find the cause of death of the patient," Dr Jyotindra Sharma, executive director at ...