Kidney for a kidney: Bihar woman demands doctor's kidneys for transplantation

Patna: Taking the quote from Bible ''An eye for an eye'' to another level, a Bihar woman has alleged that her kidneys have been fraudulently removed and stolen by a doctor at a private clinic in the Muzaffarpur District. The woman has now demanded the kidneys of the accused doctor be transplanted for her survival, as she has been on regular dialysis since September.

She has been battling for life for nearly 2 months and is currently on regular dialysis for survival at the state-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur since September.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about this incident, a woman's kidneys had been allegedly removed at an unauthorized private nursing home in the Bariyarpur area of Muzaffarpur. The Bihar Police had formed three special teams to nab the owner of a private nursing home and a doctor.

Days after the incident, it came to light that an initial probe had revealed that there was no operation theatre in the private clinic and lacked all basic facilities. The doctors are absconding, and the clinic is shut.

"I appeal to the government to immediately arrest the accused doctor who removed my both kidneys. His kidneys should be given to me for transplant so that I could survive," Sunita informed reporters.

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The incident goes back to September when Devi visited a private clinic in the Bariyarpur locality of Muzaffarpur town for a consultation on her uterus infection and was advised to undergo surgery to improve her condition. The doctor who performed the surgery removed her kidneys instead of operating on her uterus.

As she continued to suffer from continuous stomach pain and her condition deteriorated after the operation, she was rushed to the SKMCH where she was told by the attending doctors after tests that both her kidneys are "missing". Subsequently, she was shifted to Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna, but after her treatment there for some days, she was sent back to SKMCH where she remains under the observation of doctors.

She is on hold for the kidney transplant and has been promised by the doctors of immediate transplantation once a kidney becomes available. However, she has expressed her urgent need to get the transplant and is alive only due to regular dialysis.

"I have been demanding the government for over two months to arrange a kidney transplant, but nothing has happened as it is not a serious issue. We are poor, powerless and voiceless. Who will listen to us? Officials have been ignoring us." Devi, a mother of three, told NewsClick from her hospital bed after dialysis.

Earlier, a case was filed against the clinic's doctors, including the owner, at Bariyarpur Police Station, based on the statement of Devi's mother, Tetri Devi. The police later registered an FIR under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Despite informing the police, Devi said that the police have failed to nab the absconding doctor after 2 months have passed by. Questioning the motive of the police, she asked "Why have police failed to arrest the accused in the FIR in connection with my kidney removal? This action will give a hard lesson to all such doctors not to illegally remove the kidneys of the poor like us," said Devi adding that she wants the kidney of the accused in punishment of his crimes.

Meanwhile, a notice was issued to the principal secretary of the state health department by the National Human Rights Commission in November, in connection with the illegal removal of Devi's kidneys and sought a reply within four weeks about the action taken in this regard.

Also read- Srinagar: GMC's Super Specialty Hospital Successfully Performs Two Kidney Transplant Surgeries