Treatment and Death
On 19 December 2012, the woman underwent her fifth surgery, removing most of her remaining intestine. Doctors reported that she was in "stable but critical" condition. On 21 December, the government appointed a committee of physicians to ensure she received the best medical care. By 25 December, she remained intubated, on life support and in critical condition. Doctors stated that she was running a fever of 102 degrees to 103 degrees and internal bleeding due to sepsis, a severe blood infection that can lead to organ failure, was somewhat controlled. It was reported that she was "stable, conscious and meaningfully communicative".
At a cabinet meeting chaired by Manmohan Singh on 26 December, the decision was made to fly her to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for further care. Mount Elizabeth is a multi-organ transplant specialty hospital. The decision to move the patient while she was still in critical condition has been criticised for being purely political. Doctors have questioned the need to transfer an intensive care unit (ICU) patient for organ transplants that were not scheduled for weeks or even months later. Government sources indicate that the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, was personally behind the decision. Hours earlier, Union Minister P. Chidambaram had stated that the woman was not in a condition to move. Some reports suggest that the decision to shift was taken when it was already clear that she would not survive the next 48 hours.
During the six-hour flight by air-ambulance to Singapore on 27 December, the woman suddenly went into a "near collapse", which a later report described as a cardiac arrest. The doctors on the flight created an arterial line to stabilize her but she had been without pulse and blood pressure for nearly three minutes and never regained consciousness in Singapore.
On 28 December 2012, at 11 am (IST), her condition was "extremely critical" and the chief executive officer of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital said that the woman suffered brain damage, pneumonia, abdominal infection, and that she was "fighting for her life." Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she died at 4:45 am on 29 December, Singapore Standard Time (2:15 am, 29 December, IST; 8:45 pm, 28 December, UTC). Her body was cremated on 30 December 2012 in Delhi under high police security. The government denied access to the media and the public. The "fortification" of Delhi was criticised by many, including the main opposition party of India.
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