LAHORE

The Liver Transplant Centre at the Shaikh Zayed Hospital (SZH) was shut down on Friday after all three transplants done in January failed allegedly due to doctors’ negligence, 24 News has learnt.

All three procedures done in January fail

As a result, two patients and a donor died at the centre last month. The Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority sprang into action and closed the centre.

Two patients and a donor die as a result

In the first incident, a young man, Umar Farooq, donated a piece of his liver to his mother, Sarwat Bibi. As he was suffering from hepatitis E, his condition deteriorated after the procedure. He was put on life support and passed away after fighting for life for a week. Sarwat’s condition too has not stabilised yet.

Human Organ Transplant Authority investigates deaths

In another liver transplant, which was done at Shaikh Zayed Hospital on January 25, a young man, Aurangzeb, donated a piece of his liver to his mother, Naseem Bibi. The procedure failed and Naseem died on the third of her operation. Her son Aurangzeb is also in a critical condition.

Another liver transplant failed in the first week of January allegedly due to doctors’ negligence. Patient Riaz contracted hepatitis E virus during the procedure and passed away a few days later. Arif, Riaz’s brother who donated him a piece of his liver, is still under treatment.

Against this backdrop, the Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority started an investigation into the failed procedures at the centre. It shut down the centre and told the hospital management to remove the flaws.