A 23-year-old woman reportedly died while undergoing fertility treatment at a Chennai hospital.
According to several media reports, the woman identified as J Harinaatchi, died shortly after she was administered anaesthesia as part of her IVF treatment, at a private hospital in Kodambakkam on Saturday. Police started investigation after the victim's family filed a complaint against the doctors who treated Harinaatchi at the Garbbarakshambigai Fertility Centre in Parvatham Narayanaswamy hospital in Kodambakkam, The Times of India, reported.
Harinaatchi was married to Jai Ganesh, a deputy manager at a car showroom, for the last one and a half years. After failing to conceive naturally, the couple has been making regular visits to the fertility clinic. On Saturday morning, when Harinaatchi visited the clinic, doctors told her that they have to conduct a test related to the IVF treatment. Citing the painful procedure related to the process, they recommended anaesthesia. However, the woman reportedly fell unconscious shortly after receiving anaesthesia.
The procedure started at 7.30 am and hospital authorities concealed the truth from Harinaatchi's parents. Around 3 pm, they asked the woman's father Murugesan to get some medicines from the pharmacy as his daughter's condition was critical. After four hours they again approached the family and told them to shift her to any other hospital in the city for better treatment.
Harinaatchi was rushed to a private hospital in Vadapalani and was declared dead three hours prior to admission to the hospital. "We were shocked when the doctors said that she had died about three hours ago," the victim's relative Nathan, told The New Indian Express.
Enraged and shocked by the incident, the family members rushed back to the fertility clinic. But nobody was available to answer their queries. "When we returned to the hospital we were shocked to see the hospital closed," said the victim's father Murugesan.
Family members suspected an overdose of the anaesthesia, leading to her death. "Our daughter did not have a medical history of allergies to any medicine," her father added.
When Murugesan reached the Kodamabakkam police station to file a complaint, officers told him that the hospital authorities had already sought police protection. A case has been registered under 174 of CrPc that is related to suspicious death.
The body has been sent for post-mortem and police said they will take appropriate action after receiving the post-mortem report.
