Dr Sharda Suman, a 31-year-old resident doctor at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) in Lucknow, passed away on Sunday night at KIMS in Hyderabad.
She had contracted Covid-19 while on duty during the second wave in April and her lungs were severely damaged. As a result, she had been on ventilator support for 140 days when she stopped breathing on September 5 due to an increase in the infection in her body.
Dr Sharda Suman was awaiting a lung transplant, which had not been done due to non-availability of a donor.
Her family members have performed her last rites in Hyderabad. She is survived by her husband and five-month-old baby girl.
Dr Sharda Suman, a gynaecologist, continued working at the peak of the second wave of Covid-19 earlier this year. She contracted Covid-19 while on duty in April and was admitted to the Covid ward at RMLIMS on April 14. She was eight months pregnant at the time.
Despite treatment, her condition did not improve. Gradually, the condition of both her lungs began to deteriorate.
In order to save the life of the baby, the doctors delivered her daughter via a caesarean surgery while she was on ventilator support on May 1. The baby is now four months old.
The doctors then stated that Dr Sharda Suman would require a lung transplant in order to survive. With the hospital bills mounting, her husband Dr Ajay went along with senior RMLIMS officials to seek the help of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The CM took cognizance of the matter. A committee of experts was formed and the lung transplant was approved. Dr Sharda Suman was airlifted to the Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad for further treatment. She remained on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the air ambulance.
At KIMS, despite treatment, her condition only worsened. The infection gradually progressed as most antibiotics proved to be ineffective. The efforts to find a donor continued, but there was no success. She died after 34 days of treatment at KIMS in Hyderabad.
