KEM hospital denies lapse led to donor’s death in liver transplant case

KEM hospital denied any negligence on its part that led to Sindhu Waikar’s death on Sunday. Waikar, 53, had donated a part of her liver to her son Rahul, 33, on November 5. It is the first time that a donor has died in a liver transplant operation, since the transplants started in the city five years ago.

“It is an unfortunate incident. Sindhu was prone to infection due to old age. She was alive for a month; that shows there was nothing wrong with the surgery. She got infected later,” said a senior doctor from KEM hospital.

Her death is the second blow for the family, as Rahul passed away on November 8. Waikars are poor fruit-sellers from Pune, and had sold their house to fund the operation. Experts feel that such things shouldn’t happen and the hospital should investigate into this.

“We had informed the patients about the risks involved. Infection is a major risk in live liver transplant cases. Extra precautions will be taken henceforth. This is the third liver transplant in the hospital,” the doctor said.

A doctor, who had donated blood to Rahul during the operation, said, “Rahul surviving the operation was a miracle in itself. He had internal bleeding. We needed more than 67 units of blood bottles and 104 units of platelets. No other hospital could have saved him then.”

While Jaslok Hospital was the first to set up the facility in 2005, followed by Fortis Hospital the next year, KEM started in June this year.

In Mumbai, liver transplants are done only at KEM, Jaslok and Fortis hospitals. Jaslok and Fortis, with 14 and four operations, have a clean slate in terms of donors’ condition.