Harish Rana, India's first person to be allowed passive euthanasia, dies in AIIMS

New Delhi: Harish Rana, the first person in India to be allowed passive euthanasia, passed away on Tuesday at AIIMS-Delhi after more than 13 years in coma, sources said.

The 31-year-old, who has been in a coma since 2013, was shifted from his Ghaziabad home to the palliative care unit at Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on March 14.

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Three days before that, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment on March 11 allowed passive euthanasia for Harish, who was a BTech student at the Panjab University who fell from a fourth-floor balcony in 2013 and suffered severe head injuries. He had been in a coma since, with artificial nutrition support and occasional oxygen support.

His nutritional support was gradually withdrawn after he was admitted to hospital.

The apex court had directed AIIMS-Delhi to ensure that life support is withdrawn with a tailored plan so that dignity is maintained.

A specialised medical team headed by Dr Seema Mishra, professor and head of the department of anaesthesia and palliative medicine, was constituted to implement the process, the first ever in India.

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The team comprised doctors from departments of neurosurgery, onco-anaesthesia and palliative medicine, and psychiatry.