Harish Rana, the first person in India granted passive euthanasia by the Supreme Court, died at AIIMS-Delhi after over 13 years in a coma. The landmark ruling allowed withdrawal of life support, marking a significant moment in India’s legal and medical history
Mother of 32-year-old Harish Rana. Pics/X/@thenewsdrill
Harish Rana, the first person in India to be allowed passive euthanasia, passed away on Tuesday at AIIMS-Delhi after more than 13 years in coma, sources said.
As reported by news agency PTI, the 31-year-old, who has been in a coma since 2013, was shifted from his Ghaziabad home to the palliative care unit at Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on March 14.
Three days before that, the Supreme Court, while passing a landmark judgment on March 11, allowed passive euthanasia for Harish. Harish was a BTech student at the Panjab University who fell from a fourth-floor balcony in 2013 and suffered severe head injuries.
Since then, he had been in a coma, with artificial nutrition support and occasional oxygen support. His nutritional support was gradually withdrawn after he was admitted to the hospital.
Earlier on March 11, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan directed AIIMS-Delhi to grant admission in palliative care to Rana so that the medical treatment can be withdrawn.
The family of the man, in their plea to the Supreme Court had said that allowing withdrawal of artificial life support will restore his dignity after years of irreversible suffering.
The Supreme Court had directed AIIMS-Delhi to ensure that life support is withdrawn with a tailored plan so that dignity is maintained.
Moreover, a specialised medical team headed by Dr Seema Mishra, professor and head of the department of anaesthesia and palliative medicine, was constituted to implement the process, the first ever in India.
The team comprised doctors from departments of neurosurgery, onco-anaesthesia and palliative medicine, and psychiatry.
What is Passive euthanasia?
Passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient die by withholding or withdrawing life support or the treatment necessary to keep him alive. Ghaziabad native Harish Rana suffered head injuries after falling from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation in 2013 and has been in a coma for over a decade.
(With inputs from PTI)
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