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Saturday, Mar 12, 2005

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National

Delhi Medical Council panel to probe kidney donor's death

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, MARCH 11. Following allegation by the relatives of a patient that the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital had removed both the kidneys of a 50-year-old woman leading to her death on March 10, the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) today took suo motu action and formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter.

Maya Bhushan was admitted to the hospital on January 31 for donating one of her kidneys to her son Vidya. She underwent surgery on February 1. She died on March 10. Her relatives alleged that she died because the hospital "had removed both her kidneys causing her death.''

Taking note of the public outcry, the DMC team comprising its vice-president, I.P. Dhalla, the registrar, S.K. Khattri, and the member, Sanjiv Malik, today visited the Apollo Hospital and discussed the case with the operating team. They also checked all medical records and documents and found that the allegations by the relatives were baseless.

`One kidney intact'

"We have checked the documents and found that the allegations about both kidneys being removed are baseless. We found that as per the records, the woman had one of her kidneys intact at the time of death. Apollo Hospital had requested for an independent post-mortem which is being carried out at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This will help us get the right picture and take necessary action,' said Dr. Dhalla.

Apollo Hospital said the allegations made by the family were baseless and false. "An ultrasound of the abdomen of the expired patient was performed in the presence of the family and the second kidney was very much there. The police has been requested to perform an independent post-mortem to confirm the presence of the second kidney,'' said the Director of Medical Services, Apollo Hospital, Anupam Sibal.

He said the allegation made by the family that Rs. 25 lakhs was paid to the hospital for treatment of the patient was also false. "We are waiting for the post-mortem report after which we might ask for action to be taken against the family. The patient was admitted as a free patient referred by the Delhi Government. The package for a renal treatment for free patients is Rs. 1.25 lakhs for medical consumables and medicines as approved by the Government.''

The post-mortem on Maya's body was conducted today. The police said they were waiting for the final report. The preliminary report by the police, however, suggested that only one kidney had been taken out.

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