‘Small nursing homes will vanish under Act’

The Medicos Legal ActionGroup has express discontent about the inter-ministerial committee decision onnot exempting small-sized nursing homes across the country from the ClinicalEstablishment Act (CEA). Thousands of small and medium healthcareestablishments (SMHCE) across India will vanish due to the Act in the comingyears due to the stringent rules, experts have claimed.

“All small-sized nursing homes dotting the country will get closed down in coming years under CEA. Small and medium healthcare establishments, irrespective of whether they are manned by a single doctor or multiple doctors and irrespective of being in rural or urban areas, nursing homes with up to 20 beds should be given relaxation in minimum standards as is given to small and medium scale industries under a separate Act,” said Dr Neeraj Nagpal, convenor, Medicos Legal Action Group, managing director MLAG Indemnity.

SMHCE mainly represents nursing homes with less than 20 beds. In a recent meeting held on December 8, the committee exempted only ‘single doctor establishments’ (SDE).

Patients feel the crunch in hospital-staff standoff

Every year, hundreds fallprey to HIV infection through blood transfusion, states the data given by National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco). However, medical experts said manyinfected patients do not reveal their medical condition while donating blood. Butgovernment bodies that monitor transfusion don’t have any regulations to curbsuch incidences.

As per a Right to Information application in possession with The Asian Age, the central government body, Naco along with Mumbai Districts AIDS Control Society (MDACS) that function under it don’t have any penal provision under the blood policy. The person who filed the RTI application did not want to reveal his identity.

“We don’t have any penal provision to stop such activities. If a donor deliberately donates his infected blood, the medical expert on field won’t know about it. So, there is no way to control such activities,” said Dr Srikala Acharya, director of Mumbai State AIDS Control Society (Msacs).

“After blood test, if we find any donor positive, we dispose the blood and contact the donor for counseling. We advice such donors not to donate their blood again and take precautionary measures,” she added.

‘Rise in temperature will affect male fertility’

The rising temperatures in the city caused by climate change will have a majorimpact on men as with the increase in temperature, their fertility decreases,claimed medical experts.

“The temperature of Mumbai is comparatively better than other western regional states. But the fluctuation in temperature is a concern. If there is a long span of days when the temperature is above 27 degree Celsius, then it affects the fertility in men as the sperm count drops,” said Dr Suchitra Pandit, gynecologist and obstetrician, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. Addressing the concern, Dr Hetal Parekh, consultant fertility physician, from Hiranandani Hospital said, “We have seen that in winter months, men are more fertile than in summer months due to the difference in temperature. So, if winters also become warmer, the fertility in men will be adversely affected thus resulting in low reproduction rate.”

In 10 years, only 3 doctos suspended

Over 746 cases of medical negligence recorded, but actiontaken against meagre number of doctors. In the past 10 years, over 746 cases of medical negligence have been recordedwith the Medical Council of India (MCI), Maharashtra, but so far, only threedoctors have been suspended in the state.

According to data gathered from MCI, complaints about medical negligence have seen a steady rise. In 2005, only 54 cases were registered which rose to 142 in 2014.

Also, the rate of disposal of cases has suffered a decline. In 2014, the council did not dispose of a single case whereas in 2013, out of a total of 107 cases registered, only 13 were decided upon.

Medical negligence cases gather dust at JJ Hospital

In 2013, Nandini Suchde, a resident of Colaba filed acomplaint at Azad Maidan police station against doctors from Bombay Hospitalalleging negligence that led to the death of her mother.

As per rules, police referred her case to a team of medical experts at Sir JJ Group of Hospitals for further investigation. The panel confirmed professional medical negligence and an FIR was registered against the doctors by the police station. However, a few months later, the same panel refuted the report and denied medical negligence in the case.

Centralised blood bank awaits funds

Even as medical experts insist that blood banks be made centralised, the Rs 340 crore central project, Centre of Excellence in Transfusion Medicine (COE) at Sion Hospital, has hit a roadblock. The project was proposed in 2009 and had been approved by the Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) in 2011.

However, the proposed state-of-the-art Metro Blood Bank is in the lurch as National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco) failed to provide money, a Right to Information query has revealed. Suresh Shetty, who had initiated the project during his tenure as health minister, said, “The project had hit roadblocks initially because of opposition by hospital staff over the approval of land but we resolved the issue and also got approval from the BMC.

34 per cent kids of HIV moms are not tested till 18 months

A National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco) report has revealed that only 66 per cent of children of HIV positive mothers are tested till 18 months while 23 per cent of such vulnerable babies become untraceable and the remaining 11 per cent die before attaining 18 months of age. The report was published after Naco officials in Maharashtra studied around 11,000 HIV positive mothers along with their newborn babies.
As per Naco, it is mandatory to do all necessary tests till 18 months to find out if the baby of an HIV positive mother is HIV positive or not. According to experts, delay in providing treatment may lead to deterioration in health of the child which can lead to its death.

Childhood bullying can lead to depression in adults

Almost one in every 10 child faces bullying, but its impact can linger on into adulthood. According to doctors in the city, childhood bullying can lead to depression later on in life.
Sumir Khanna*, a 35-year-old businessman from Ghatkopar, was on the verge of depression, which was not only affecting his career but also his family life.
Helpless, Rita*, his wife — left with no option— took him to GT Hospital to see a psychiatrist. No one would have suspected that his depression was related to traumatic events that had happened 20 years earlier.

Boost for production of plasma drugs

The Union health ministry in a circular issued last week has permitted blood banks with component separation facility to exchange their surplus plasma with indigenous fractionators in return for plasma-derived products. Fractionation involves separation of blood into its components so that protein components in plasma can be turned into useful medicines.

‘HIV testing is primary, horoscope matching secondary’

Anita Mishra (name changed), a 27-year-old resident of Nagpur married a 30-year-old IT professional Ramesh Mishtra (name changed) last year and settled down in Thane. The couple had settled in perfectly until a blood test report changed their lives forever.

Patients feel the crunch in hospital-staff standoff

Patients at Prince Aly Khan Hospital have been getting their meals late for the past six months due to shortage of cooking staff members. Though the hospital has a sanctioned strength of eight employees for the kitchen department, only five are employed, forcing them to work 12-hour shifts, in violation of labour laws.

Fight to ban lewd videos continues

Based on a petition filed by a 24-year-old from Pune, YouTube was, on Thursday, forced to remove a child-abusing channel. The petitioner Tejeswani Naik has also written to other channels that are also broadcasting the offensive videos where students, in open schools, are forced to learn statements like “Your waifu is shit” and “Mani, is a lesbion fag”.

Hospital class 4 employee in suicide bid

A 32-year-old woman, a class 4 employee of Prince Aly Khan Hospital tried to commit suicide on Wednesday, because she was allegedly fired from work for withdrawing a sexual harassment case against a hospital union member.
There are reportedly two unions in the hospital that represent class 4 employees and technicians. However, since the formation of the second union, there had been a continuous clash to override each other.

Blue dot to help India’s diabetics

In a positive development for diabetics, menu cards at Indian restaurants and food packets might soon carry blue dots to represent diabetes-friendly food items.
Currently, only two dots are in use — red and green, signifying non-vegetarian and vegetarian food respectively. Blue has been selected as the colour to represent food that is favourable for consumption by diabetics as the World Health Organisation (WHO) uses a blue circle in the ‘World Diabetes Day’ emblem.

Blood communities thrive on social media

On November 4 ‘Blood For Needy’ tweeted about the urgent need of a donation of AB positive blood group for a kidney patient admitted to Breach Candy Hospital. She needed the blood for her kidney transplant that was due after two days. Soon, the tweet got several retweets and within a few hours, the requirement was fulfilled.

Drug-resistant bacteria worries doctors

Ankit Dholakiya, a 12-year-old boy from Nerul was suffering from a seasonal flu. Instead of taking him to a paediatrician, his parents gave him an over-the-counter drug from a medical shop. When his condition did not improve, they took him to a general physician who administered another dose of antibiotic medicine.

Post-Diwali, city air is still ‘poor’

Diwali may have ended, but its effects are still looming over the city. Though air quality has improved by few points, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), on Saturday Mumbai recorded a ‘poor’ air quality level with an air quality index (AQI) of around 240, which is categorised as ‘Increasing likelihood of respiratory symptoms in sensitive individuals especially children and the elderly.’

Vashi student turns saviour, helps 79 birds during Diwali

Even as his family and friends were busy celebrating Diwali, a 23-year-old Vashi resident was busy attending to his feathered friends. In the last three days, Nikhil Kolekar, an MBA student, has rescued 79 birds that were taken ill caused from pollution by firecrackers.
Mr Kolekar had started a bird rescue helpline in 2008 despite opposition from his family.
“I have rescued 79 birds this Diwali. Most of the injured birds were pigeons and woodpeckers. Unlike eagles or cows, these birds have weak hearts. So, the pollution created from fire crackers affects their breathing system and they fall down,” said Mr Kolekar.

Non-obese teens are falling prey to Type 2 diabetes

In the past five years, the number of teenagers falling prey to Type 2 diabetes has increased by 25 per cent due to changing lifestyle and environmental factors. Also, according to the doctors, non-obese children below the age of 15 have also been consulting them for treatment of diabetes.
Sonia Thakkar, a 14-year-old from Vashi, was leading a normal life until she met with an accident while playing at the school ground. Though not grievously wounded, despite immediate and continuous medication, her injury did not show much improvement. This made her parents doubtful and they took her to a hospital. It was only then they got to know that Sonia had Type 2 diabetes.
Previously, Type 2 was mainly diagnosed among patients above 50 years of age. But there has been a shift in the trend and more number of teenagers are getting diagnosed with the condition.

Maharashtra ignores WHO guideline

Despite World Health Organisation’s (WHO) new guideline to provide antiretroviral therapy for everyone diagnosed with HIV regardless of CD4 cell count, state ART centers are ignoring it, a move that can lead to more deaths.
Anita Mehta, 32-year-old, resident of Thane succumbed to HIV infection last month after struggling for a year. She would have survived for a few more years had she started the treatment at an earlier stage. Like her, hundreds of HIV-infected patients die due to delay in treatment. To address this issue, WHO had on October 1, released a new guideline calling for universal antiretroviral treatment to all patients irrespective of the CD4 counts.

City airport a hub for gold smuggling

The city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has recorded the highest number of gold smuggling cases in India with a record 1,150 cases in 2014. A Right to Information (RTI) query revealed that the anti-smuggling department at the city airport in the same period had seized around 1,000 kg of gold.
The RTI has revealed that gold smuggling in the city airport has increased drastically in the past three years. In Mumbai airport, a total of 534 cases were detected in 2012 and after dropping to 448 cases in 2013, it again surged to 1,150 cases in 2014 recording a 115 per cent rise in gold smuggling.
The Mumbai airport has recorded the highest number of gold smuggling cases in India followed by Chennai (970), New Delhi (401) and Kolkata (233) in 2014. The RTI application was filed by The Asian Age to the anti-smuggling unit, department of revenue, New Delhi.
The RTI reply also said there had been a change in the trend of crime with more number of insiders getting involved in the smuggling. However, as per the RTI, only six ground staff members, airline staffers have been arrested in connection with gold smuggling in the city airport in 2014. Whereas, no airport or airline staff members were arrested in 2013 and 2012.
Additional commissioner of Air Intelligence Unit Milind Lanjewar said, “It is mandatory for all the ground staff and cabin crew members to go through customs checking while arriving from an international route.”
Most of the yellow metals are smuggled from Saudi Arabia where the price of gold is lower than in India. After the recent series of gold seizures from the airline crews, the customs department has sent a notice to all the airlines asking them to ensure their crews do not evade customs clearing.
Mumbai also serves as a gateway for gold smuggling to neighbouring states such as Gujarat, where 40 per cent of the seized gold from the city get transported. On October 10, 3 kg of gold worth Rs 80 lakh was seized from a Mumbai resident from the Ahmedabad airport. The gold was concealed in an audio amplifier in his bag.
“Most of the smugglers carry the gold through international airlines and land at Mumbai. Then they smuggle the gold to Ahmedabad. Of late, smugglers are using newly-wed couples to get gold into the city,” said A.K. Sharma, director of the Ahmedabad airport.

Only 60 per cent kids got free glasses under scheme

The state health department has fallen short of its target to provide free spectacles to more than 84,000 schoolchildren under the National Blindness Control Programme (NBCP) with only 60 per cent of the estimated children getting the benefit so far.
Under National Blindness Control Programme (NBCP), the state health department was supposed to provide free spectacles to more than 84,000 school children, but the benefit has only been provided to 60 per cent of the targeted children. According to data procured by The Asian Age, only 51,736 school children studying in government schools have been provided with free spectacles while 32,544 children were left out.

THIS HELPLINE IS AN EYEWASH

The helpline number of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital's eye bank, biggest in the state,is lying non-functional for the past few days. This makes it difficult for a deceased person's family members to contact the bank and make donations in time

A dead helpline number threatens to throw a spanner in the works for Gujarat that recorded the second highest number of eye donations in 2014-15.On Sunday, an 80-year-old man passed away in his Paldi home on Sunday following brain haemorrhage.Nagindas Mulchand had pledged his eyes before his death as his last wish was to help a blind person see the world. His grandson Kaushik dialled Civil Hospital eye bank's number ­ 079-22681010 ­ to find out the procedure to donate his grandad's eyes, but nobody picked up the phone.Finally, after much running around, he got in touch with an NGO that helped him donate his grandfather's eyes to Nagri Eye Hospital.

Cuckolded hubby posts wife's naughty pics

Ranip man accused ofviolation of privacy after he clicks wife's photograph with alleged lover,uploads it on FB

Revenge is a dish best served on the social media network seems to be the latest mantra for partners out to expose their adulterous spouses.Fuelled by the need to reveal the extramarital affair of his wife, a 32-year-old resident of Ranip recently uploaded her photograph on Facebook -the photograph had been clicked on the sly when she was in a compromising state with her lover. According to Crime Branch officials, where the wife registered a complaint, the husband was acting after his family members refused to believe his claims that his wife was two-timing him.

Women thrashed for not giving chanda

On the 4th day of Navratri, while the revel ers across city were busy upping thefes tive spirit, a group of goons at Vadaj was busy displaying their strengthto collect chanda (donation) by bashing two women. The women -Asha Dayama (32)and Sarla Kishori Tavar (40) -were beaten up by local goons for denying to payRs-5,000 as Navratri chanda.

At around 12.30pm on Friday, Kashinath Patel, a goon running bootlegging business, went to the duo's house along with 10 others to collect chanda. On refusal to pay, they allegedly began hitting them. However, Tavar claimed, “Despite paying chanda twice, they demanded Rs-5,000 for Navratri. When I refused, they started arguing and began trashing me. When I fell down, they started kicking me in my stomach. For help, I dialed 100, and afraid of cops they fled away.“

Gujaratis are largest skin donors

Gujaratis save lives of several burns patients by providing 80% of skin donations inIndia, according to National Burn Centre data.

Skin transplant is still in its infancy in India but it can save the lives of patients with severe burns. And, Gujaratis play a crucial role in saving lives of hundreds of such patients in India. According to the National Burn Centre. Of around 650 donations in the past five years, more than 500 donations were made by Gujaratis.

‘35,000 child labourers in city’s e-waste sites’

In Ahmedabad alone, about 35,000 childrenin the age group of 10-14 years eke a living from the hazardous e-waste sector.They are part of over 4.5 lakh children across the country who work in theinformal e-waste recycling industry, reveals a study by Assocham. The study also reveals that these kids, who are employed in various harmful activities, have to work without any adequate protection.

“According to our nationwide study, over 35,000 children are working in e-waste sector in Ahmedabad,” said DS Rawat, secretary general at Assocham, a business body that had recently conducted a survey on ‘Child labours engage in e-waste activities in India’ under their Social Development Foundation. The study was conducted in cities like Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune and Dehradun.

Eating sindoor puts man's life at risk

A 35-yr-old Mehsana resident wasdiagnosed with kidney failure after suffering from lead poisoning due toconsuming sindoor for 11 yrs

Sindoor is an integral part of the Hindu ritual used in mar riages and for religious pur poses. But did you ever hear of people eating sindoor? A 35year-old Mehsana resident visited Civil Kidney Hospital two months ago with complaints of acute abdominal ailments, vomiting and facial puffiness.

Shortage of medicine hits asthma, diabetes patients

Asthma patients and diabetics sufferwithout doxophylline and insulin as Ahmedabad Civil Hospital did not floattender on time, leading to delay in supply of medicines

Mohammad Qureshi, a farmer from Devli in rural Ahmedabad, was exhausted: physically and financially. He had been running around the whole day trying to arrange for money to get anti-asthmatic medicine for his daughter. Though his 14year-old should have been given the medicines by authorities at Civil Hospital where she is admitted, Qureshi had to face a tough time because the hospital had not floated its tender in time causing shortage of insulin and anti-asthmatic medicines.

Qureshi, 37, said, “My daughter has acute breathing problem. Her condition deteriorated after it rained in our village. We rushed her to Civil Hospital for treatment. She got better following primary treatment. Then, the doctors refused to administer the prescribed antiasthmatic medicine, doxophylline. After repeated pleas, a nurse informed me that the medicine was not available in the hospital. They asked me to get it from outside.“

The farmer spent more than Rs 2,000 ­ an amount he could

Suicides in city goes up by 32 per cent

Whereas, all the four metropolitan cities recorded a fall in the number of people killing themselves

A 19-year-old girl hanged herselfat her Chandkheda residence on Sunday after the man she was in re lationshiprefused to marry her.» A 21-year-old medicine aspirant, committed suicide whenher name did not appear in the admis sion merit list on July 3. Her body wasdiscovered by her parents from her house.

Gujarat has much to worry about on people valuing their lives as Ahmedabad recorded 32.6 per cent rise in the number of suicides in 2014 over the figures for the previous year.

Incidentally, all metropolitan cities -Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata -recorded a fall whereas the number of people killing themselves in the city increased from 671 in 2013 to 890 in 2014. The data was published in `Accident deaths and suicides in India -2014', by the National Crime Records Bureau on Saturday.

Guj IMA objects to portrayal of pvt docs in NCERT textbook

IMA asks Gujarat chapter to participate in fight against NCERT over derogatory description of docs in Class VII SS textbook

Taking forward the fight against discrimination of private doc tors in the syllabus of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Indian Medical Association (IMA) has sent a notice to Gujarat branch of IMA to join in.

A comic strip published on pages 22-23 of Class 7 social sciences textbook by NCERT shows private doctors as fleecing patients. The private doctor is shown as prescribing many medicines, while a government doctor just hands out a pill for a viral infection. The private doctor's bill is Rs 3,500, while the government doctor charges Rs 150.

A portion of chapter 2 on `Role of Government in health' says, “In order to earn more money, these private services encourage practices that are incorrect. At times cheaper methods, though available, are not used. For example, it is common to find doctors prescribing unnecessary medicines, injections or saline bottles when tablets or simple medicines can suffice.“

IMA has demanded that the chapter should either be deleted or re-written. “All branches of IMA across the country will join hands to fulfill the demand. We will conduct a meeting and organise a press conference to make people aware of the issue,“ said Dr Chetan Patel, president of Gujarat IMA.

Brain dead woman's final act of kindness

Following the 63-year-old schoolteacher's last wish, her family donated her kidneys, eyes and liver to spreadawareness, help improve other people's lives

School teacher Minakshi R Shete has given a new lease of life to five people. Respecting the last wish of the 63-yearold, who was brain dead, her family members donated her kidneys, eyes and liver.

“My mother taught at a municipal school. She was quite aware of the importance of organ donation.We are proud that she donated her body to help others lead a better life,“ said her son Ronak Shete, who works with a private farm.

City's biggest Durga puja goes eco-friendly

Artisansbrought in by Bengal Cultural Association A' bad plan to decorate pandal withproducts made of sholapit

Come October and the city dolls up for nine nights of revellery while the Bengali community in Ahmedabad gears up for the much awaited Durga puja.And even as craftsmen in South Kolkata are busy sculpting the tallest idol of Maa Durga in the world, artisans brought in by the Bengal Cultural Association Ahmedabad, are giving an eco-friendly twist to decorations at the oldest puja in town, with decorations made with sholapit. An essential part of the Bengali culture, sholapit is made of a plant that grows in marshland.

Elaborating on the attempt to decorate the massive pandal at Ahmedabad Education Society ground with this plant product, SN Chakraborty, president of Bengal Cultural Association Ahmedabad, said, “From the time of its inception 78 years ago, this will be the first time we will use shola to decorate the pandal. An essential part of the community, shola is used to make products used in religious ceremonies.“

`Heart troubles' up by 14% for women in city

Data from 108 services revealed by Union Health Ministry says cardiac ailments among women have surged due to sedentary lifestyle, work-related stress

» All seemed normal with Ravita Sharma, a 32-year-old call centre employee at Navrangpura, till one night when she experienced chest pains. Used to working night shifts, Ravita was at work when she started sweating profusely and had chest pains.

DEAD BODY

More than 80 per cent cases of negligence and malpractice registered with Gujarat Medical Council have been pending foryears; GMC cries manpower crunch
The Gujarat Medical Council (GMC), a statutory body which is authorised to handle cases related to medical malpractice and negligence, has been twiddling its thumbs for a long time now -more than 80 per cent of the cases registered with the body have been pending for years.

In the past 10 years, more than 1,300 cases have been recorded with the council from various parts of Gujarat. However, only in 223 cases, justice has been delivered.

12% dowry cases in Gujarat fake

Ina country where thousands of women lose their lives to dowry harassment,Section 498 A (women subjected to cruelty by her husband and in-laws) of theIndian Penal Code comes as a weapon to fight this injustice. However, around 12per cent of the cases registered under the section in Gujarat are fake,according to data provided by Union Women and Child Welfare Department. This isabove the national average of 10 per cent. Though the number of casesregistered under Section 498 A has gone down in the past years, registration offake cases has not seen any dip.

BREATHE AT YOUR OWN RISK

The city has reported five deaths in 19 incidents involving illegal dumping of toxic waste in open drains in the past two years. But GPCB has no mechanism in place to protect lives or environment

Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), which is tasked with protecting the environment, has reduced itself to being a sitting duck.Devoid of mechanism in place to monitor illegal dumping of hazardous chemical waste in the city's industrial areas, the pollution control body depends on citizens and local bodies for assistance. At least five people have lost lives and several affected in as many as 19 incidents involving illegal dumping of toxic waste over the past two years.

Smugglers strike gold at city airport

With two cases in 2012 to 51 cases in2014, Ahmedabad airport is at number 8 in number of gold smuggling cases across country in 2014

Curbs on the import of gold has been eased, yet there has been an unprecedented jump in cases of gold smuggling at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the past year.Ahmedabad stood eighth in the number of gold smuggling cases registered at airports across the country in 2014, according to the Anti-Smuggling Unit under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance.

Triumph of good over bad

Meet chemist who blew whistle on sale of stolen medicines

It was an alert pharmacist who reported a nurse to a patient's family when she came to the store to sell stolen medicines. If not for 33year-old Yogesh Maru the theft of medicines prescribed to a 75-year-old patient admitted to UN Mehta hospital's ICU would have gone undetected. It could have possibly complicated the patient's health condition had her family not found out that medicines meant for her were being stolen and sold off.

Maru, who has been working at Dev Medical Store near the hospital for three years, could have simply bought back the medicines from the accused nurse. But he suspected something fishy about the whole thing and, like a dutiful citizen, promptly reported the matter to the patient's son.

UN MEHTA NURSES `STEAL PATIENT'S MEDICINES, TRY TO SELL THEM TO CHEMIST'

Medicinesgo missing from 75-yr-old patient's bedside; surface 5 hours later at a chemist'sshop. Chemist alerts patient's son, alleges two nurses tried to sell thosemedicinesHospital institutes inquiry

In what could be just a tip of the iceberg, a shocking case of alleged theft and sale of medicines meant for patients has come to light at UN Mehta Institute Of Cardiology & Research Centre. The alleged theft was reported by the son of a 75-year-old patient who was admitted to the hospital with cardiac problems and lung infection. The accused nurses are likely to be suspended or terminated if the hospital's inquiry committee finds them guilty.

Swapping and saving

Six kidney patients get new lease of life as Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre sets record with first non-simultaneous domino kidney swap transplants under one roof in a week.

In a series of surgeries spaced over a week, doctors at Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) performed six kidney swaps as part of a domino kidney transplant process involving six families. According to the centre, this is the first time six non-simultaneous kidney swaps have been performed in the country. All the patients are reportedly responding well to the transplants.

Interestingly, the donor-recipient sets came from two Muslim families and four Hindu families, confirming the belief that humanity and life transcends boundaries of religion.

Using math to fill gaps in face recognition tech

Software developed by a GU forensic researcher uses complex mathematical calculations to enhance distorted CCTV images within seconds

In the age of video surveillance when cops depend heavily on CCTV and video footage to nail culprits, Gujarat University forensic science researcher's new facial recognition software, which boasts of enhancing even a blurry image to help in facial recognition, has come as a boon.

Up in smoke

Severalof the 60 CCTV cameras installed in city’s industrialunits to monitorpollution lie defunct; GPCB issues notices, takes no action
Thick smoke rises menacingly from the chimney of an industrial unit in the city. It spreads to nearby areas, permeating the respiratory tracts of unwary Amdavadis and increasing their mortality by causing respiratory infections and diseases, lung cancer, and other cardiovascular diseases. This could easily have been prevented had Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) properly implemented its plan to install CCTV cameras to keep a watch over industrial units and monitor emissions.

Swine Flu Testing - New labs fail to match WHO biosafety levels

In a bid to step up its battle against swine flu, the state government ordered the construction of three new testing laboratories but neither of the labs meet international safety precautions. As per WHO, laboratories that culture influenza A (H1N1) viruses should have biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) -but none of the testing laboratories in the state register more than level 2 in biosafety. Moreover, two of these laboratories do not have the equipment that helps diagnose the virus strain.

This year, 122 people have succumbed to swine flu while 2,000 are currently being monitored. Taking into the consideration the increasing number of swine flu cases and with Kutch and Jamnagar recording 25 per cent of the total number of swine flu cases, the state health department, in February, announced construction of three laboratories in Kutch, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. Each lab was to be built at the cost of Rs 25 lakh each.However, none of the labs measure up to biosafety level 3 (BSL-3).

50% Gays married, 14% were sexually abused as 7-yr-olds

Strap: Study conducted on 410 homosexuals in the cityreveals that around 50 per cent got married to hide their sexual orientation asthey feared social stigma; 14% sexually abused at age 7 or 8
Mrs and Mr Jignesh Mehta (name changed) were envied by many for their perfect love life. They were best friends in college and got married in 2010. Everything was fine till a third person walked into their life. What hurt Mrs Mehta was a secret her ‘best friend’ hid from her for years.  “I am a gay. I love you but I also love him,” he told his wife one night.  That was the last time they had a private conversation. Every meeting later was in the presence of divorce lawyers. Two years later, they parted ways.

City battles HIV drugs shortage

Around 40,000 HIV patients dependent on ART centres for treatment are at risk of missing their medication due to rising shortage in drugs The nationwide shortage of HIV drugs distributed at Anti retroviral Therapy (ART) cen tres has affected people in and around Ahmedabad too, with patients being turned away or given medicines for three days as opposed to the norm of six months. The reason, say experts, is National Aids Control Society's (NACO) delay in filing a tender for the supply of the medicine. The shortage, say doctors, is alarming because irregular consumption of medicines could lead to patients developing drug-resistant HIV.

When sisters gift love and life

On Rakshabandhan, men vow to protect their sisters. Yet, Mirror comes across cases where sisters have gone far beyond mere rituals by donating their organs and giving their ailing brothers anew lease of life

Paresh Makwana, a 35-year-old daily wage labourer, suffered from kidney stones which ended up damaging both his kidneys. Newly married Makwana was fighting for his life when his 25-year-old sister, Varsha, gave him a new life by donating her kidney.

Makwana has two brothers and sisters, all of whom are married expect Varsha who readily agreed to donate her organ to save her brother's life.“When she saw me bed-ridden, she decided to sacrifice her dreams of getting married and donated her kidney to me.Very few sisters are like her,“ he said.

Makwana explained, “In our society, men do not generally marry a woman with one kidney as she is at risk of ailments in future. So, she decided against getting married. She will devote her life to god. Varsha took this decision only for me. She has gifted me a new life.“

Meenaben Marwari, the 40-yearold wife of a sarpanch from Vadodara district, donated her kidney to her 37year-old brother Mahesh Dagra. Talk ing to Mirror, her husband Mukesh Marwari said, “Mahesh was diagnosed with diabetes which affected both his kidneys. My wife was worried about his survival so she decided to donate her kidney to her brother.“

He added, “Though my wife is middle-aged, she didn't think twice before donating her kidney. Her love surprised all of us.“ On Rakshabandhan, a brother promises to protect his sister with his life when she ties the sacred thread of rakhi on his wrist. Yet, 11 sisters took on the role of protector in 2014 by donating their kidneys to their brothers.In comparison, only two brothers donated their kidneys to their sisters.

Similarly, out of the total 21 sibling kidney donations in 2013, 19 were made by sisters for their brothers whereas only two brothers donated their kidneys to their sisters. In 2014, no liver donation has been recorded among siblings. Regarding gender disparity in organ donation, Dr Priya from Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) said, “Out of the total 348 kidney donations made in 2014, only 3.7 per cent are provided by siblings. Of this, only 15 per cent of them are provided by brothers which is saddening.Why should sisters always donate their organs? Sibling love should be both ways. Brothers should also donate to save the lives of their sisters.“

Dr Vivek Kute, nephrologist at IKDRC said, “In most families, males are the main bread-earners. They generally avoid donating organs as they do not want to risk their lives and the survival of their families.“