PANAJI: The state government on Tuesday initiated an inquiry as to why the Goa Medical College and Hospital failed to receive the organs in the cadaveric organ retrieval procedure from a brain dead person admitted in a private hospital on the outskirts of the city.
“I have ordered a full-fledged inquiry, which will help me improve myself and ensure that in case organs are harvested in the state then Goans would benefit…,” said Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.
This inquiry will help us find out the shortfalls if any at the GMC and the reasons as to why the retrieved kidneys that should have come to us as a right could not come. It should not be seen as an attempt to punish somebody, he said.
The report is expected to be submitted to the government by Friday.
Rane said the inquiry will be conducted by a six-member committee headed by additional secretary (health) Sunil Musurkar and five other doctors including Dr Madhumohan Prabhudessai, Dr Teresa Pereira, Dr Virendra Goankar, Dr Guruprasad Naik, and Dr Ugam Usgaonkar.
In a related development, transplant coordinator of the GMC Dr Mahesh Panche has been directed by GMC dean Dr Pradeep Naik not to leave the state till enquiry is over.
“Dr Mahesh Panche, assistant lecturer, department of casualty and emergency medicine, is hereby directed to not to leave the station or to go anywhere outside the state or for any training programme within or outside the state,” reads the order issued by the dean.
“Dr Mahesh shall make himself available for the enquiry till its completion. This is for strict compliance,” it reads further.
The harvested organs, including liver and kidneys, and cornea, were flown to Mumbai from the Dona Paula-based private hospital on April 6
by a team of doctors from the Mumbai-based Global Hospitals.