E-Paper
Can Covid warriors be treated on priority, HC asks Centre, Punjab
The petitioner has argued that as he is was on Covid-19 duty at the virus testing lab in Ludhiana, he should be given priority over other patients for kidney transplant
The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the Centre and Punjab government whether there is any policy for giving priority to Covid-19 warriors to get treated for a disease reported during the period of their fight against the pandemic.
The high court has acted on a plea by Chanchal Singh, an assistant professor in the department of physiology and biochemistry at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana. The court was told that the petitioner is a Covid-19 warrior, who acquired kidney disease when he was posted for virus testing at Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, Ludhiana, in November 2020.
Suffering from chronic kidney failure, for which the cause is unclear, the petitioner is undergoing dialysis at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, and Max Super Specialty Hospital, Mohali.
The court was told that he has been enrolled in the list of kidney transplant patients by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education Research, Chandigarh, and directions be issued to the authorities concerned for getting his transplant done at the earliest under the Deceased Donor Kidney Transplant Scheme.
The petitioner has argued that as he is a Covid-19 warrior, he should be given priority over other patients. The Centre, Punjab government and PGIMER have been asked to respond by May 24, whether there are any specific instructions or policies for providing such preferential treatment.
