Hospital loses organ transplant licence

The Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare has suspended the licence for organ transplantation granted to Lalitha Healthcare Private Ltd which is functioning in the name of Fortis Hospital located in Seshadripuram.

The action comes in the wake of a complaint sent to the health commissioner that the hospital was not registered with the Appropriate Authority for Organ Transplantation under the provisions of Section 14 of the Transplantation of Human Organ Act.

A committee was then constituted to conduct an inspection of the hospital. The official memorandum of the commissionerate said that “based on the report of the committee, it was obvious that for all practical purposes, the hospital is functioning in the name of Fortis Hospital.”

“The hospital authorities told us that the organ transplant licence was still registered as Lalitha Healthcare and that Fortis was the brand name given to the hospital. But the public would approach the hospital for transplants assuming that it is Fortis and not Lalitha Healthcare,” said the Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare. The licence was suspended on September 24 based on the committee’s report.

Lalitha Healthcare is the second branch of Fortis Hospital to lose its licence for organ transplantation, the first being Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta, whose licence was withdrawn after the Karnataka High Court issued a show-cause notice to the hospital following the death of a patient due to alleged negligence of doctors in 2010.

According to Zonal Co-ordinating Committee of Karnataka for Transplantation (ZCCK), a cadaver kidney was allotted to Lalitha Healthcare a year ago for transplantation. A ZCCK official said that ideally, the health department should immediately inform  ZCCK about the suspension of licence so that organ recipients waiting in a particular hospital are informed of the development.

As per the records of ZCCK, there are more than 15 patients from this hospital waiting for a donor to get their transplantation done. A Health Department official said they were yet to inform ZCCK about the suspension of the organ transplantation licence of Laliltha Healthcare.

“This is an interim step for the health authorities to fully review the matter. All the renal transplants undertaken at our hospital are as per the required regulatory norms and we remain committed to providing compassionate care and the best available treatments to all our patients. We are examining the matter and shall be taking all necessary steps as may be appropriate,” stated a Fortis Hospital statement.