HYDERABAD: A. Prameela, a 60-year-old woman, who donated a part of her liver for liver transplantation of her husband four years ago, died on Tuesday at Global Hospitals, amidst accusations of negligence by family members.

Her husband A. Jagannatham, who underwent the transplantation in April 2003, died two weeks after the surgery due to sepsis, said to be a common cause of death in such cases.

He was among the first few patients in the State to have undergone the transplant. His family members had lodged a complaint then with the police alleging gross negligence on the part of the hospital.

Team of specialists

Managing Director of the Hospitals K. Ravindranath denied any laxity and said the best possible care was provided to Prameela. He maintained that the liver transplantation was done by a team of specialists led by Dr. Nigel Heaton of King's College Hospital, London that had followed all the standard protocols.

He said that Prameela suffered cardiac arrest two days after the surgery and the heart was immediately revived. Since the brain did not get proper blood supply, she had slipped into an almost "coma-like" condition and the hospital had taken care of her since then.

He said that complications normally arise in 10 per cent of live donor cases in liver transplants and one death occurs in every 100 live donors.

He said that the Global Hospitals had so far carried out eight `live donor' liver transplants, but Prameela was the first donor to have died.

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