UK girl’s organs removed for pathology tests: Doctors

Thursday, 16/05/2013

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130516/punjab.htm#5

Patiala : A day after the parents of a British schoolgirl Gurkiren Kaur Loyal alleged in the British media that their daughter could have been “murdered by medics in India intent on harvesting her organs,” doctors who conducted the postmortem admitted that the girl’s vital organs were removed. But this was done only to ascertain the cause of the death.

“That the girl’s internal organs had been removed for viscera and pathology tests were mentioned in the postmortem report submitted to the police.The postmortem was carried out as per the set procedure in such cases,” said Rajindra Hospital doctors who conducted the postmortem.

Since the postmortem was performed three days after the girl’s death, the suggestion that the organs could have been used for transplantation was absurd, the doctors said.

“The girl died on April 2 and the body was brought to hospital on April 6. A four-member board of senior doctors was set up to conduct the postmortem. All internal body parts were found intact,” said a hospital official. The board comprised senior forensic medicine expert Dr SS Oberoi, pathologist Dr Anil Suri, microbiologist Dr Ashok Kumar and MD, Medicine, Dr RS Sibia.

“During the postmortem, vital body parts, such as the brain, heart and lungs, were removed for a histo-pathological examination. Further, the stomach, parts of the small intestine, liver, spleen and kidneys were taken out and preserved for a chemical examination. We are yet to receive a report from the Kharar laboratory,” Dr Oberoi said.

Gurkiren’s parents say they took her to a doctor in Khanna after she suffered from dehydration, 11 days into her first trip to India.They claim that their eight-year-old daughter was “fine” till she was administered a mystery injection. Fearing that their daughter’s organs could be sold for transplantation, they insisted on taking the body back to a relative’s house. The body was kept for four days in a freezer borrowed from a local gurdwara before being taken to a local hospital. “There, a medieval post-mortem examination was carried out,” they told the British media.

“We were told that the girl was suffering from tetralogy of fallot (TOF), which is a congenital heart defect,” said Dr Sibia. Sources said while negligence on the part of doctors who attended the girl in Khanna could not be ruled out till the chemical report was received, the postmortem report and preliminary findings ruled out the possibility of the organs having been removed. “The parents can get the permission to preserve the girl’s body parts,” said a doctor.

A former president of the Punjab Academy of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, said in India there was a set procedure to remove and preserve body parts for chemical and pathology tests.

“Transplanting internal organs needs special expertise. Organs from a body are transplanted on a ready recipient immediately as these start decaying in a few hours,” he explained.