A decision on what will be done with the body of veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu, who pledged his body for medical research, will be taken only after a thorough examination, hospital authorities said here on Wednesday.
“Presently the body has been kept in the Anatomy Department and an examination is being conducted. What purpose the body will be used for will only be decided after the examination,” said Pradip Mitra, director of the Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER), which received the body on Tuesday evening from Left Front chairman Biman Bose.
Asked about media reports that the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, was planning to ask IPGMER to hand over Basu’s brain for research purposes, Dr. Mitra said no such request had been received so far.
Meanwhile, Basu’s decision to donate his eyes and body seems to be motivating people to follow his example.
“Over the past few days we have received several inquiries on eye donation,” said R.C. Pal, general secretary of the Susrut Eye Hospital and Research Centre, the facility that was responsible for harvesting and transplanting Basu’s eyes.
To queries whether his corneas were transplanted on Wednesday, Dr. Pal declined to reveal anything, saying the rules of the Human Organ Transplant Act prohibited hospital authorities from revealing who the recipients were or the time of the corneal transplant.
“I can assure you that the corneas will be used,” he said. Dr. Pal did add that the transplant should be done within 96 hours of removal of the corneas from a body.
