Kota:
Suffering from kidney failure after childbirth, five women in Rajasthan’s Kota have refused to undergo dialysis and intensified their demand for a transplant. Their families have now written to the President of India, seeking permission for euthanasia if the government cannot ensure proper treatment.
The development comes after their 48-hour ultimatum to district authorities expired without an assurance for kidney transplants.
The New Medical College Hospital (NMCH) authorities, however, said that their treatment is ongoing, and all patients are stable.
Reports suggest these women — Dhanni Suman, Ragini Meena, Sushila Mahawar, Pinki Airwal, and Aarti Chaubdar — have already undergone 32 rounds of dialysis after their health deteriorated following childbirth in early May. They have been in the hospital for over 70 days now.
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Five other women had then died at NMCH and JK Lone Hospital in Kota from complications after C-section surgery.
“Terrified Of Dialysis”
Suman, who has been admitted since the first week of May, is now “terrified of the word dialysis”, her husband Mohan Lal said, adding that she begins vomiting, shivering violently, and gets a fever within an hour of the process.
Ragini said that the dialysis process is extremely painful and that there has been no improvement in their health despite prolonged treatment.
Pinki and Aarti, who were scheduled to undergo dialysis today, walked out after refusing the procedure and accused the hospital administration of negligence.
The ward staff pressures us every day to take discharge, claimed Lokesh Meena, Ragini’s husband.
Memorandum To President
The families of the five women today wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, insisting on either a kidney transplant or death. In their memorandum, they sought permission for euthanasia if they do not get a kidney transplant.
This followed the expiry of a 48-hour ultimatum that the women had issued to the district authorities to ensure their transplants. There was no positive response.
“We cannot watch them suffer like this anymore. If they do not give us a written assurance for kidney transplants within 48 hours, we will stop bringing them for dialysis and let them die. We are living like walking corpses,” Mohan Lal had said.
Read: Rajasthan Government To Screen Pregnant Women After 18 Maternal Deaths
Hospital Says Ready For Discharge
Dr Nilesh Jain, principal at NMCH, stated that treatment for all five women is underway and that their condition remains stable. They had been cleared for discharge 20 days ago and can visit the hospital for dialysis sessions, he added.
Refusing dialysis is life-threatening, he warned.
He explained that for such patients, doctors first try to improve their kidney function through treatment for three months, and only then does a specialist decide if a transplant is necessary.
Dismissing the allegations against the hospital administration, he further said that the patients should bring any issues they face to the administration’s attention so that a resolution can be found.
(Inputs by Shakir Ali)
