New Delhi: The National Consumer Commission has held that doctors and hospitals cannot be made to pay compensation in case the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) -- one of the most common infertility treatments – does not succeed.
The commission’s bench, headed by Justice Ajit Bharihoke, lent credence to medical literature and a report from a central government’s hospital to underline that “no success is not a negligence” and therefore, a couple cannot demand damages even if the IVF fails to get them a baby.
“In any given cycle, the chance of IVF success varies, depending on your age and your personal health circumstances…It is known that ‘No cure/no success is not a negligence’, thus fastening the liability upon the treating doctor is unjustified,” said the apex consumer forum.
The commission emphasised that doctors and hospital are expected to act with duty and care, and if they have treated patients in accordance with the well-established norms and under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, they cannot be faulted.
“The failure of IVF ET is known as per international standards. The IVF procedure is highly technical and the success rate is low in the cases of females above 35 years…The success rate of IVF-ET as per international standard is 13.4% in women less than 35 years of age and 3.6% in women above 35 years,” noted the commission, citing the report by a panel of doctors from the Delhi-based Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital.
The commission’s ruling has come in a case dating back to 1999 when a 35-year-old woman underwent IVF procedure for having a child but the procedure failed.
The couple then filed a complaint in the state consumer commission, demanding compensation from the senior consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist from Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on the ground of medical negligence. According to the complaint, the IVF procedure failed for want of care and diligence by the woman doctor and the hospital.
In 2011, the state consumer commission accepted the woman’s contentions and awarded her a compensation of Rs 15,000 along with interest. “Motherhood is one of the strongest female urges and deprivation thereof comes as a great setback and disappointment bringing about frustration of life in its wake,” the state consumer commission had then said.
The doctor, however, moved an appeal and pointed out that the best trained doctors treated the patient as per the standard protocol, and further the couple was duly apprised of the fact that IVF procedure could also fail.
The top consumer commission then examined the complaint along with other evidence, medical literature and the expert medical opinion by the RML Hospital as it held there was no case of medical negligence made out against the woman doctor and the hospital.
“According to medical literature the chances of having a healthy baby using IVF depend on many factors, such as patient’s age and the cause of infertility,” it added.
Comments
0 comment