Experts baffled as Mataji’s medical reports are normal

Usually, if a person does not urinate for 72 hours, he faces grave chances of kidney failure, say medical practitioners. But Prahalad Jani, affectionately known as Mataji, who claims to have survived without food and water for 65 years, and on whom a team of 30 doctors conducted rigorous medical tests, has not passed stools or urine for 65 years. It has baffled medical experts and scientists.

“During the tests we found that in Prahalad Jani's bladder, the amount of liquid fluctuates even when he does not pass urine,” said a member of the team of medical experts that conducted medical tests on Mataji.

Fifteen days of medical tests (which began on April 22) on Mataji were completed on Thursday at 3:30pm and all reports of medical tests — cardiac, MRI of chest, abdomen and spine, EEG reports — were normal. And this at the age of 82 years.

Dr G Ilavazahagan, director, Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), and neurologist Sudhir Shah, while briefing reporters about Mataji's medical reports, said different tests at different time were conducted as per the protocol set up by partners.

"We did blood tests for haematology, biochemistry, hormone profile and the reports were in the pre-determined safety range throughout the observation period as per the protocol," said Dr Shah.

Doctors said they will take time to analyse the reports, but they have decided to meet every fortnight to discuss different medical results to reach a conclusion.

They said Jani's nerve conduction studies revealed normal nerve function, which is not likely in a person of his age. "Mataji's EEG is also normal and we are analysing data during meditation if there are any changes," Dr Shah said.

Mataji's lung functions is quite normal, as per reports by Dr Mukesh Patel and his team. Physician and diabetologist Dr Urman Dhruv is also part of the team that is conducting this observational study in collaboration with Sristi and the government of Gujarat.

Observational studies are being conducted to understand the mechanism by which Mataji is able to survive without food and water. During the study, a protocol of round-the-clock surveillance was followed with the help of CCTV cameras and personal observation. Mataji was taken out for MRI, USG, and X-ray examination and exposure to sun under continuous video recording.