Plea to establish bone bank in GRH

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday ordered notice to the Centre and the State in a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to the governments to establish a bone bank in the Government Rajaji Hospital here.

A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and P. Rajamanickam summoned the Director of Medical Education to assist the court in the case. The court questioned as to why a proposal sent in this regard in 2017 was still pending. The petitioner, M. Vetri Selvan of Madurai, said that he had sought a reply from the Dean regarding the establishment of a bone bank through an RTI application. He was informed that a proposal was sent to the DME in 2017 itself, the petitioner said.

Apart from the establishment of the bone bank, the petitioner said an advisory board must be constituted comprising experts to ensure its effective functioning. Latest equipment must be procured for the bone bank, he said.

Awareness programmes on Transplantation of the Human Organs Act must be conducted for the benefit of the public regarding bone donation, the petitioner said. The case was adjourned to October 15.