Bengaluru: On Tuesday January 4, the Karnataka High Court has approved the construction of the Institute of Gastroenterology Sciences and Transplant, a dedicated organ transplant institute, on the premises of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in the City.
“There is no reports that the new hospital will have a negative impact on TB patients at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases if it is constructed. We believe that it is the responsibility of the authorities to consider the opinions of experts in the field and to decide on the place and location of the hospital that they have planned to build. It is also up to the State Government to assess the location’s suitability,” said the court. It has also directed the government to start constructing the hospital and finish it on time.
Dr. R. Chandrashekar, former Vice-Chancellor of RGUHS and Managing Trustee of Health Foundation, and Dr. B. Rudrappa, a retired senior specialist, Health and Family Welfare Department, filed a Public Interest Litigation, which was dismissed by a division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Suraj Govindaraj.
They claimed that the construction of the institute at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases will affect tuberculosis patients by preventing them from getting fresh air. According to sources, the government advocate submitted that the centre is necessary as nearly 2,000 liver and 1,700 kidney patients in the State are waiting for transplants, regardless of the fact that just 60 transplants were performed last year. He also mentioned that the new setup will also reduce the cost.
