M Natarajan’s organ transplant stirs row
Tamil Nadu BJP raises questions over treatment provided to Sasikala’s husband.
Questions are being raised over the way an accident victim, 19-year-old daily wager in Thanjavur, was airlifted to a private hospital where jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala’s husband, M Natarajan, underwent a liver and kidney transplant operation with the organs harvested from his body.
The Global Hospital in Chennai admitted that the family of the patient, Karthik, were advised against moving the boy from the Tanjavur hospital but they preferred to shift him to the Chennai Gleneagles Global Health City for specialised treatment.
“It was here that the doctors treated Karthik but failed to revive him and declared brain- dead. The family of the boy consented to organ donation and his liver and kidney were donated to Natarajan,” Gleneagles Global Health City said in a statement.
Doctors conducted a seven-hour long operation for successful operation, the hospital said.
But activists raised questions over the way the entire operation was carried out.
Incidentally, reports said that Natarajan had registered with the organ transplant authority for liver and kidney and was waiting for the same for the past few days.
Raising serious doubts over the whole exercise, BJP Tamil Nadu unit president, Tamilisai Soundararajan, on Thursday demanded a thorough inquiry into the whole affair, saying that the rights on organs belong to the hospital that declared the boy brain-dead — that is, the government hospital in Tanjavur.
“All rules relating to organ donation and transplant were flouted,” she alleged, saying that the case must be investigated.
“A lawyer contacted us and told us that insurance money would take care of treatment of Karthik at a bigger hospital in Chennai,” Karthik’s sister told a private television channel here. She said, “We were advised to donate but were not aware to whom they were given.”
“How could the family of the very poor boy afford him being airlifted to a private hospital in Chennai and who paid for the services raised important questions that point to a foul play,” said Soundararajan.
Incidentally, the person who allowed the organ transplant, Dr P Balaji, heads the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu. He was made the head of this body only recently. Dr Balaji is also the doctor who attested the fingerprint of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa on the election forms of AIADMK candidates.
Citing this, the BJP leader said a high-level thorough probe into the whole affair would bring out the truth.
Natarajan was admitted to the hospital at Perumbakkam on September 10 after he suffered multiple organ failure.
Sasikala had earlier sought 15-day parole in order to meet Natarajan.