A nine-year-old HIV carrier lost his lawsuit against the Stomatological Hospital affiliated to Peking University.

Xiao Jian, from Central China's Henan Province, said he believed he was infected with the virus after a blood transfusion at the hospital in 2002.

However, Beijing Haidian District People's Court decided on Tuesday that the hospital and blood supplier were not at fault.

The court also ruled out the possibility that the boy was infected with HIV at the hospital.

The court entrusted a professional medical research centre to investigate whether the boy's case was a medical accident.

"The result showed that it was not," the Beijing News quoted a judge as saying.

The trial was heard in closed session as the plaintiff is still a minor, sources with the court said.

Xiao Jian went to the hospital in August 2002 for treatment and received a blood transfusion due to his low blood platelet count.

The boy, seven years old at the time, left the hospital in September 2002.

He was then confirmed HIV positive by a local health quarantine station in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, in November 2003.

The boy's parents were tested and found to be free of HIV/AIDS.

The family concluded the boy must have been infected at the hospital and filed a lawsuit demanding 2.3 million yuan (US$283,000) in compensation.

When rejecting the plaintiff's claims, the court decided it would not enforce the court fees of 22,000 yuan (US$2,600) due to the family's financial status, the Beijing News reported.

The medical appraisal fees of 3,500 yuan (US$430) will be paid by the hospital and blood provider.

(China Daily 04/21/2005 page3)