KOCHI: Renowned urologist and kidney transplant surgeon George P Abraham, 75, was found hanging at his farmhouse in Nedumbassery near Aluva. The police, who recovered a note from the farmhouse, said he died by suicide.
A senior renal transplant surgeon at Kochi’s VPS Lakeshore Hospital, Dr George had performed Kerala’s first cadaver transplant.
He was suffering from depression after being diagnosed with various diseases that affected his work, as per the FIR registered at the Nedumbassery police station. The death happened between 7.30 pm and 10.30 pm on Sunday.
The suicide note recovered by the police said age has affected his work and that he was missing the job satisfaction of his earlier years. According to hospital sources, he had undergone a spine surgery around six months ago.
The death of Dr George, who has performed around 3,600 renal transplant surgeries —the highest in the state — has shock ed the medical fraternity.
“One of the thorough gentlemen in the field of urology, a great teacher, surgeon and pioneer in the field of laparoscopic urology. We will all miss you,” Dr Arun Kumar, consultant urologist and managing director of Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology, Chennai, posted on X.
Dr George, a resident of Elamkulam in Kochi, and his brother Paul reached the former’s farmhouse at Thuruthissery near Nedumbassery on Sunday evening. George later dropped Paul at his residence in Brahmapuram and returned to the farmhouse. However, as George did not reach his house even after 9.30 pm, his relatives started looking for him. Later, they received information that George’s car was parked at the farmhouse. The relatives soon reached there and found him hanging from the handrail of the staircase.
With more than 32 years of experience in renal transplant surgery, Dr George was honoured by Health Minister Veena George recently.
He is the third surgeon in the world to perform a living donor laparoscopic renal transplant and first in Kerala to perform percutaneous nephrolithotomy, a minimally invasive surgery that removes kidney stones, and a Lap Donor Nephrectomy 3D laparoscopy, a robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgical procedure to remove a kidney from a living donor.
Funeral to be held today
Dr George has also won several awards for his contributions to the field of nephrology, including the Bharat Chikitsak Ratan Award, Bharat Vikas Ratna Award, Lifetime Health Achievement Award, etc.
He is survived by wife Daisy George, son Dr Datson P George, daughter-in-law Riya Datson and two grandchildren.
The body was handed over to relatives after a postmortem examination at Ernakulam General Hospital on Monday. The mortal remains were kept at VPS Lakeshore Hospital for the public to pay homage in the afternoon.
The funeral services will begin at his residence at 1 pm on Tuesday after which the mortal remains will be laid to rest at the cemetery of St George Jacobite Syrian Church, Cheruthottakunnel, near Infopark in Kochi.
Meanwhile, Nedumbassery police have registered a case of unnatural death and started an investigation.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)