By Shivani P Menon
Pune: The relatives of Bapu and Kamini, who expired after a live liver transplant procedure at Sahyadri Super Speciality Hospitals, Deccan, have filed a complaint at Deccan Police Station on Friday, police officials said.
Following a liver transplant at Sahyadri Super Speciality Hospital in August, the Pune-based couple, Bapu Komkar (48), and Kamini Komkar (41) died.
On August 15, two days after the operation, Bapu passed away, and one week later, on August 22, Kamini, who had contributed a section of her liver, succumbed to organ failure.
Before the filing of a formal complaint, police sent the medical records of the couple for expert analysis as part of an investigation.
The Maharashtra Health Department has suspended the liver transplant license of the hospital, and an eight-member commission under Dr. Mohamed Rela has been formed to probe the incident.
All transplants of the liver have been suspended pending the committee review of the records, processes, and post-mortem findings; their findings will dictate further action.
In line with the recommendations and findings of the panel, further action will be initiated by Senior Inspector Girisha Nimbalkar of the Deccan Police Station.
Their report of medical negligence at the hospital that led to the deaths of the recipient and the donor has been made to the police by the relative of the deceased, Balraj Wadekar. He further added that the written statement contains details of the patient’s medical history, treatment history, when the hospital informed the family of the incident, and how the hospital did not provide them with updates regarding their status.
As per Nimbalkar, medical negligence needs to be established in expert panel reports of SGH and BJMC for a first information report (FIR) to be lodged.
Dr Bhagwan Pawar, member secretary and deputy director of health services of the committee, stated that the hospital has already produced the records, and the experts will indicate any defaults this week. He further stated that the hospital will be requested to furnish documents if missing as part of the investigation, and the committee has decided to visit Sahyadri Hospital on September 8. The investigation will officially commence in the second week of the month.
Meanwhile, Sahyadri Super Speciality Hospitals, Deccan, refused to comment on the development.