Thiruvananthapuram: A patient awaiting kidney transplant died due to a four-hour delay in surgical procedures at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. The kidney was transported from Ernakulam via ambulance and reached Thiruvananthapuram on time. However, the surgery got delayed and the patient died on Sunday. Health Minister Veena George ordered a probe into the incident. 

The kidney of a 34-year-old patient who died on Saturday at Rajagiri hospital in Ernakulam was brought to Medical College on Sunday. The brain death of the donor was confirmed on Saturday. At around 4 am on Sunday, two doctors headed to Rajagiri hospital from Thiruvananthapuram Medical College in a private ambulance to collect the organ. They reached Rajagiri Hospital at 10 am and returned to Thiruvananthapuram by 3 pm.

The traffic was controlled in the area to facilitate the journey of the ambulance without any delay. However, the medical college authorities were not prepared to conduct the surgery. They were well aware that the surgery was to take place on the day. 

After four hours of delay, the surgery was eventually conducted at 9:30 pm. However, the recipient died on Sunday morning. The hospital authorities said the delay in the dialysis resulted in an unfortunate situation. However, it was revealed that the hospital failed to conduct dialysis procedures on time even as the ambulance started its journey from Ernakulam. It is alleged there was a serious lapse on the part of the Nephrology and Urology departments.