AIDWA is shocked by the tragic death of 26 year old Yuma Sherpa, on Jan 29th 2014, in the aftermath of a surgical procedure that she was subjected to as part of the egg donation programme of a private clinic based in Lajpat nagar, New Delhi.
An AIDWA delegation, comprising of Sudha Sundararaman (National Vice president, Maimoona Mollah (Vice president, JMS Delhi), Akhila Singh (CEC member) and Rekha ( JMS Delhi) who met the distressed family members and friends on Jan 30th, were informed that Yuma was persuaded by agents of the New Life Clinic in Lajpat Nagar to donate her eggs for a surrogacy, and started undergoing the procedure since Jan 8th 2014. Subsequently, Yuma wanted to stop the procedure and back out altogether but was told by the doctor at the clinic that it was too late to go back on the procedure.
On January 29th 2014 Yuma Sherpa was admitted to New Life India Clinic to undergo the final procedure for the removal of her eggs, which began at 5:30 pm and by 6:45 pm she was moved to the recovery room. At this point she phoned her husband Sanju Rana asking him to pick her up.
Her husband reached the hospital around 7.15 pm and saw her lying unconscious in the recovery room. On enquiry he was told that Yuma was given some drugs so she could rest for sometime, which was important for recovery. When Sanju tried to talk to her after an hour, she was still not responding. Finding her in that state, he asked the hospital staff to check on her. An Assistant Doctor checked on her and eventually called for senior doctors. When she still did not respond, the doctors brought in the emergency care kit and tried to revive her.
While it was clear that Yuma was not responding to their attempts, hospital staff waited till 10 pm when an ambulance was called. Yuma was taken to Adiva Hospital, all the way to Green Park, even though there are bigger hospitals like AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital on the way. In Adiva she was put on a ventilator in the ICU ward and was finally declared dead around 12.30 am.
After receiving the news, her husband along with his friends and Yuma’s employers rushed to the Hauz Khas police station to register a complaint. Here they were told that the death had happened outside the jurisdiction of Hauz Khas police and that they should go to Amar Colony Police Station instead. Following this, the husband dialed 100 and informed the police of the death of his wife around 3.05 am. Subsequently, a complaint was submitted with the Amar Colony Police Station.
The next day on January 30, 2014, the body was taken to AIIMS for a post mortem at around 12.30 pm. Since then the family and friends have been running between the Amar Colony Police Station and AIIMS mortuary. They have been told that an FIR would only be filed once the post mortem is over. They were also informed that a team of doctors would be constituted to conduct the post mortem to establish whether it is a case of medical negligence. The family is waiting for all the procedures to be completed so that the post mortem can be conducted at the earliest.
Yuma Sherpa and her husband are Nepali residents of Darjeeling, who had come to Delhi in search of employment. They left their three-year old-daughter with her grandparents to be cared for as they worked in Delhi. Criminal medical negligence has led to irreparable loss for this working class family.
AIDWA has submitted a memorandum to the Delhi Commissioner of Police, and the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, asking for immediate intervention in this tragic case. The demands include the following:
· Due to the criminal laxity and irresponsibility of New Life Clinic in not taking steps to treat Yuma Sherpa in time, the patient died. The culpability of the clinic, which continued with the procedure despite Yuma’s earlier complaints of discomfort, has to be noted and acted upon.
· The authorities must intervene immediately to seal the New Life India clinic, and institute a proper enquiry into the case to determine culpability, and arrest the culprits.
· Stringent action must be taken against the police authorities who refused to register a complaint citing jurisdiction issues, and against any authorities who have delayed registration of the FIR.
· A 3 year old child has been left bereft of her mother due to this tragic death. Full compensation must be paid to the family of the deceased,
· The case highlights the vulnerability of poor women who are persuaded to participate in such procedures for money without any counselling,, monitoring or proper information of the risks involved and lack of any assessment of whether they are suitable for such a procedure to feed a lucrative market for egg donation and surrogacy. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare must immediately undertake to gather information and draft legislation to regulate the profit making industry that has arisen around surrogacy and egg donation.
AIDWA calls for united actions by all organizations, and concerned individuals to ensure justice for Yuma, and safety for all women being subjected to such procedures.
