Man loses court case against medical center

A man in Rugao of Jiangsu province sued a local premarital examination institution for failing to detect his wife's HIV infection before marriage and childbirth.

The 24-year-old man, "Xiao Xin", married his wife after dating for six months. In July 2015, they had premarital checkups in the local material and child health and family planning center. The examination results proved the center showed the couple had no diseases unsuitable for marriage and they got married the following January.

Two months later, the wife gave birth to a baby girl. But the husband found out she had HIV infection by accidently seeing her surgical records. He divorced the woman four months later and sued the center for its failure to detect the HIV infection.

The man insisted the center infringed upon his rights of information, claiming 100,000 yuan ($15,079) for money spent on the wedding and another 20,000 yuan for his mental distress.

Rugao People's Court conducted a closed trial and rejected the plaintiff's appeal, saying that no evidence showed the center had made mistakes in failing to detect the HIV infection.

The court said the failing to detect the virus was due to limitation of medical technology, and that no law stipulates people infected with HIV should be banned from marriage.