JOIN USDeath of kidney recipient sparks protest
Family members of C Bhaskar, who succumbed to post-kidney transplantation infection, staged a protest in front of Suguna Hospital on Friday, alleging that the hospital authorities had sold off the kidney donated by Bhaskar’s father.
Sumathi, Bhaskar’s wife, has lodged a complaint with the Rajajinagar police and a case under Sec 174C of IPC — death under mysterious circumstances — has been registered. The body has been sent for post mortem and the report is awaited, said the police.
According to Dr Sanjay Srinivasan, a nephrologist who conducted the transplantation on Bhaskar, said the recipient died after the transplanted kidney was rejected by his body.
Normally, five per cent of kidney transplantation cases can be a failure, depending on the recipient’s response to cope with the foreign kidney. Unfortunately, Bhaskar happened to belong to that category, he said.
“When a kidney transplantation is proposed, a set of tests will be conducted both on donor and recipient. In Bhaskar’s case, earlier, there was a positive response, but he developed complications when his body refused the foreign kidney a few weeks after the transplantation,” added Dr Srinivasan.
Despite administering immunosuppressants, Bhaskar was not able to adapt to the transplanted kidney.
Later, a surgery to remove the transplanted kidney and further biopsies were conducted. With the family’s consent, the transplanted kidney was sent to Manipal Hospital for histopathology test. But Bhaskar died of infection, he added.
Dr Srinivasan further said that from the beginning, all details related to Bhaskar’s treatment was explained to his family and the hospital has a record of all the treatment provided to him.
Suguna Hospital has conducted over 30 transplants so far and this is the first time a complication has occurred, he claimed.