I was shocked to read the news that even after three weeks of High Court’s green signal, the tribal siblings Sonia and Deepak are still awaiting the kidney transplant at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai. In fact, there is no need of any hesitation by any sensible surgeon to do this humane surgery when a responsible nephrologist like Dr. Bharat Shah has told the High Court that there is a 100 per cent tissue match. When according to him, everyday’s delay is a risk, any further delay will amount to nothing less than criminal negligence on part of Lilawati Hospital and its surgeons. In short, the doctors aren’t justified at all by hesitating to go ahead with the urgently needed kidney transplant. Unfortunately, I have come to know on February 10 from a prominent nephrologist from a private hospital in Andheri east, Mumbai that the hospital’s and the other procedures are unbearably long to the extent of two months, in addition to the unbearable expenditure of lakhs of rupees. It is quite possible that during this time the patient in need of urgent transplant may die.
In India the problems of dialysis and kidney transplantation are extremely expensive, beyond reach of many. All the legal and the medical hurdles in this matter should be scrapped on war footing by introducing and implementing the concerned law.
— Hansraj Bhat, Borivli