Kota kidney damage victims seek euthanasia or treatment in plea to President

New Delhi: Five women who suffered kidney damage allegedly after undergoing C-section surgeries at Kota’s New Medical College have submitted a memorandum to the President, demanding urgent arrangements for treatment and compensation, or permission to end their lives through euthanasia.

These women delivered babies at the Rajasthan government-run medical college hospital between May 4 and 7. According to them, negligence by doctors and the use of substandard drugs supplied by Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Ltd caused both their kidneys to fail.

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In their joint petition, the women said they have been surviving on roughly 500 ml of water a day for the past two months, with fluid accumulating in their lungs, experiencing breathing difficulties and undergoing dialysis every 48 hours.

They said their husbands have lost work due to caregiving demands, leaving families in financial distress. Repeated appeals to officials, the district collector, the local MP and the state government have brought no resolution, they claimed.

The petition seeks to either direct authorities to arrange immediate kidney transplants and compensation, or, if the state cannot provide these, permission to end their lives with dignity through euthanasia.

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These are among several women who suffered kidney failure allegedly after they underwent C-section surgeries at Kota’s hospitals. Five of them died.

Investigations into the deaths pointed to possible quality issues with oxytocin injections as one of the multiple reasons. The injections are widely used to prevent and treat severe bleeding after childbirth. The manufacturing licences of the company that supplied the drug has been cancelled and the World Health Organization has sought a report from the Indian government on the matter.

After Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla raised the matter with the union health minister a high-level committee comprising doctors from AIIMS-Delhi and AIIMS-Jodhpur was formed to investigate the matter.