Orissa High Court seeks reply on kidney transplant deaths at SCB

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed the state government to file an affidavit within two weeks in response to a PIL seeking a high-level inquiry into the alleged deaths of 125 kidney transplant patients at SCB medical college and hospital (SCBMCH), Cuttack.

The PIL filed by Gangadhara Panigrahi, chairman of Bhubaneswar-based organisation Kranti Odisha alleged the deaths, occurring over a period of 13 years, were due to medical negligence and lack of proper post-operative care.Panigrahi urged the court to intervene and direct the government to initiate a comprehensive probe into the matter, compensate the affected families and take disciplinary action against medical staff of the nephrology department at SCBMCH.

The petition alleged that since the commencement of kidney transplantation services at SCBMCH in 2012, a total of 175 patients had undergone the procedure, of which 125 have died. These deaths, it claimed, stemmed from inadequate post-operative care, procedural lapses, and infrastructural deficiencies. The figures were based on a report published in a vernacular daiThe bench noted the seriousness of the matter and asked the govt to file an affidavit within two weeks and rejoinder, if any, shall be filed by the petitioner counsel within a week thereafter. The matter has been listed on September 10.

The PIL was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice MS Raman.