Halted by Covid, 24 Myanmarese flown to Delhi for medical treatment

NEW DELHI: A group of 24 Myanmar nationals with serious ailments and awaiting organ transplant and specialised medical treatment for over six months due to the pandemic have been brought from the neighbouring country to Delhi for treatment at a leading private facility here. Their health condition ranges from chronic liver or kidney disease to hepatitis B virus infection, doctors at the hospital said.

“They were flown to Delhi on July 2 in a special chartered flight after the lockdown restrictions were eased for international travel,” a spokesperson of Apollo Hospitals here said. Many patients from abroad visit the city for medical advice and treatment but the second wave of the Covid had put a halt on their travel, prolonging their suffering.

The spokesperson said the 24 patients from Myanmar are currently kept in a 12-day quarantine, after which their condition will be assessed for transplant procedures, some may not need it and would require just specialised medical care.

“The patients were suffering from chronic liver, kidney and cardio-vascular diseases and had been waiting for organ transplant and specialised medical treatment for over six months,” said Dr Anupam Sibal, group medical director, Apollo Hospitals. 

“One of the patients is a 48-year-old man who had been suffering with hepatitis B virus (HBV), which is a progressive and irreversible condition. The man had been waiting for treatment for over six months and hence his condition had progressed into induced liver cancer,” said Dr Neerav Goyal, senior consultant, liver transplant, at the hospital. He was brought to Delhi in a specialised charter flight, along with 23 other such patients for organ transplant, he added.