When reputed and venerable doctors take to the streets demanding justice, the government had to bow in acquiescence. In response to a dharna by well-known names in medical circles including cardiologists A K Chary and Care Foundation chairman B Somaraju in front of the 120-year old Osmania General Hospital here, the government gave its permission to carry out a DNA test on a patient whose kin alleged malpractices by doctors during a surgery.

The doctors came out to protest against the “indifference” of the government in agreeing to their demand to give the hospital the chance to clear up its name.

A kidney donor Radhika alleged that the Osmania doctors had sold her healthy kidney and transplanted a diseased one on her father which led to the failure of the transplantation.

In protest the Osmania doctors stopped all transplantations until the government gave the permission to conduct a DNA test on the patient to prove that the allegation was false.

As the government did not respond for three weeks, the doctors went on a protest in which leading doctors and former government officials participated.

They pointed out that Osmania had on unblemished record in kidney transplantation. It was the first hospital in the country to successfully transplant a kidney in 1982. So far it had done 400-odd transplantations successfully.
On Tuesday, protesting against what they described as the “callous attitude” of the Andhra Pradesh government in taking action on the report submitted by a fact-finding team, senior nephrologists of OGH held a silent protest.
In poor light

The protesting nephrologists maintained that Ms Radhika’s allegations have shown the hospital in poor light. The protesting specialists were joined by cardiologists and others.

They attended duties by wearing black badges.