The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court observed that the facility of bone marrow transplant (BMT) must be extended to at least one general hospital in each district in the State .
In Tamil Nadu, apart from the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, both in Chennai, no other government hospital has the facility for providing free BMT procedure. In Puducherry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research has BMT facility, the court observed.
A Division Bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and A.D. Maria Clete directed the State government to allocate necessary funds for civil structure, equipment and human resource for the establishment of BMT facility at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai in three months. On allocation of funds, the State shall ensure that the BMT facility was established at GRH in six months from the date of allocation of funds, the court directed.
The court passed a common order in two separate public interest litigation petitions filed by Dr. S. Gurushankar and A. Veronica Mary of Madurai. The petitioners sought framing of necessary guidelines with regard to standards of medical and infrastructural facilities to be made available in government hospitals in Tamil Nadu and establishment of BMT facilities in government hospitals.
The court observed that at present the free BMT procedure was provided at the two government hospitals in Chennai. The Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme also covers BMT procedures at the government and empanelled hospitals at subscribed rates for eligible low income families.
The cost involved in undergoing a BMT procedure runs to several lakhs in private hospitals, which cannot be afforded by the poor and underprivileged section of the public. In order to avail the free facilities of BMT at Chennai, people from remote places have to travel all the way to Chennai. The government shall take into consideration all the imminent and crucial medical procedures, which have been deprived to the poor and underprivileged section of the public in the remotest districts and shall endeavour to extend the facilities at the earliest, the court observed.
The court granted liberty to the petitioners to make appropriate representation to the authorities for framing suitable guidelines with regard to standards of medical and infrastructural facilities in government hospitals. The court directed the Health Secretary to consider the representation made and pass suitable orders in three months.
EOM
Published – April 19, 2025 08:29 am IST
