Hiranandani seeks to have suspension revoked

After Dr L.H. Hiranandani Hospital’s transplant licence was suspended by the state authorisation committee, it plans to approach the authorities once again to have the suspension revoked. The hospital authorities drafted a letter on Friday seeking for the suspension of the licence to be revoked so that pending operations could be started.

The hospital’s transplant licence was suspended by the state on July 16. The hospital, too, had appointed an internal committee and found discrepancies in certain documents submitted in another kidney transplant case.

Meanwhile, sources at the hospital said that copies of the letter were being dispatched to the director for medical education and research, Maharashtra Medical Council and Dedicated Healthcare Service (DHS). The hospital’s internal committee is seeking legal aid to challenge the suspension of the transplant licence, sources said.

Dr Sujit Chatterjee, the hospital’s CEO, said: “We have written that the hospital is not at fault at all and that it is going through a tough time. It was the transplant coordinator’s mistake and after things became clear, we sacked him immediately. We are yet to decide on what steps we should take internally.”

DHS assistant director Dr Gauri Rathod said, “In the course of the investigation, we probed all the documents and videos concerned, and also spoke to the recipient and donor. Their statements have been recorded. But things have taken place at Hiranandani Hospital. To revoke the suspension of the licence would be a difficult task.”

On July 14, the police had stopped a live kidney transplant at Hiranandani Hospital after receiving information that the donor had forged documents to pose as the recipient’s wife. The state had then appointed an expert committee to probe the matter in detail.