'Delay' in kidney transplant surgery: Kerala health dept suspends two doctors

A patient in need of a kidney transplant died at the medical college hospital here on Monday, allegedly due to a four-hour delay in the procedure, prompting the state government to order a probe into the incident.State Health Minister Veena George, who met the media here, said the heads of Nephrology and Urology departments in the medical college hospital have been suspended pending inquiry for lack of coordination in the kidney transplant incident.The kidney, which was harvested from a 34-year-old brain dead donor in Ernakulam, was brought to the state capital on Sunday evening.

A patient in need of a kidney transplant died at the medical college hospital here on Monday, allegedly due to a four-hour delay in the procedure, prompting the state government to order a probe into the incident.

State Health Minister Veena George, who met the media here, said the heads of Nephrology and Urology departments in the medical college hospital have been suspended pending inquiry for lack of coordination in the kidney transplant incident.

The kidney, which was harvested from a 34-year-old brain dead donor in Ernakulam, was brought to the state capital on Sunday evening. Certain media reports had alleged that there was a delay of around four hours for the kidney transplant even after the organ reached the hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

After the preliminary report of the Additional Chief Secretary (Health), George said action has been taken against the department heads suspecting lack of coordination during the arrival of the harvested kidney from Ernakulam.

''The hospital authorities have complained that when the organ arrived from Ernakulam, some persons other than hospital staff carried the box containing the organ from the ambulance to inside the hospital. This will be investigated,'' the minister said.

A video which was aired by television channels showed two unidentified persons receiving the organ from the ambulance as soon as it stopped and taking it inside the hospital.

The minister said authorities concerned of the hospitals were not there at the time when the ambulance reached the portico of the hospital to receive the organ.

She said the harvested kidney reached the medical college here at around 4 pm.

''The patient matched at around 2.30 pm and was admitted for various tests and medical examinations. After that, at around 4 pm, he was taken for dialysis. Normally, it takes around four hours,'' George said.

''His dialysis was over at around 8 pm and was shifted to the operation theatre at 8.15 pm and the operation started shortly. This is as per the report. This is the normal procedure,'' she added.

The transplant was completed in around eight hours, but the patient passed away today morning.

The minister said the actual reason behind the death can be ascertained only after the post-mortem report comes.

Meanwhile, a relative of the deceased patient said they did not feel any sort of lapse or apathy on behalf of the hospital authorities.

''The doctors had told us that his health condition was not good enough to conduct a surgery. They asked us to rethink. But since the family received a kidney for transplant after waiting for five years, they decided to go forward with the surgery. We have not felt any kind of apathy or lapse. We came to know about such things through the media,'' a relative told the media.

In the meantime, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan attacked the Left government and said the state administration and the health minister cannot escape from the responsibility in the matter.

He sought strict action in the matter.

''There were lapses in arranging the operation which was jointly conducted by the Nephrology and Urology departments. The health minister and the state government cannot skirt the responsibility of this serious negligence. This government is nullifying all the achievements which Kerala has gained in the health sector over the years,'' Satheesan said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the State Human Rights Commission registered a case in this connection and directed the Director of Medical Education to inquire into the incident and file a detailed report within four weeks.

The panel initiated the probe following a complaint lodged by two rights activists.

The kidney was transported from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram in an ambulance on Sunday within 2.5 hours, through a ''Green Corridor System'' created for this purpose, the complaint said.

A green corridor is a special traffic route set up with the help of police, to facilitate smooth and fast transportation of vital organs to save human lives.

The complaint against the Nephrology and Urology departments of the medical college alleges that the surgery was held after a delay of three hours.