Pune couple dies after liver transplant surgery, Sahyadri Hospital says all medical protocols followed

Kamini was the donor for Bapu who was suffering from liver complications for long. “My sister was in good health… she was the donor. How can she die of complications? It is difficult to believe,” he said.

The liver transplant was carried out at the Deccan branch of Sahyadri Hospital on August 15. Wadekar and his family want the hospital to clarify what exactly went wrong in case of the two deaths

Wadekar said they had taken a loan of Rs 12 lakhs to get the operation done. Bapu worked in a private company, while Kamini was a homemaker. The couple had a 20-year-old son and a daughter who is Class VII. “This year, my brother-in-law found it difficult to pay the annual fee of Rs 40,000 of his daughter’s school. The management allowed him to pay it in instalments,” he said. The loan, he said, has to be repaid that is now another cause of concern for the family.

Wadekar said they had chosen Sahyadri Hospital as it is supposed to be a specialty hospital. “We demand answers, how can the donor die? And what went wrong in case of my brother-in-law? We got the post-mortem done at Sassoon Hospital. Once the report comes, we will approach an expert committee formed to find out if there was any medical negligence,” he said.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Sahyadri hospital said, “We deeply empathise with the patients’ family in this time of immense loss. Liver transplant is one of the most complex procedures, and in this case, the recipient was a high-risk patient with end-stage liver disease. As per protocol, the family was fully counselled about the risks in advance. The surgeries were carried out following standard medical protocols. Unfortunately, the recipient developed cardiogenic shock after the transplant and could not be revived despite all efforts. The donor initially recovered well, but later on the sixth-postoperative day, developed sudden hypotensive shock with subsequent multi-organ dysfunction, which could not be controlled even with advanced treatment. We remain committed to providing the highest standards of care and extend our deepest empathy to the bereaved family during this tragic time.”