Liver Cirrhosis Not Treated in Country: DAB

The Doctors' Association of Bangladesh (DAB) has urged that BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia be sent abroad for specialized medical care and be released permanently.

The demand was made during a press conference at the National Press Club's Abdus Salam Hall on Wednesday.

"BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's physical condition is very critical; now at the crossroads of life and death. We demand the government for her permanent release and to allow her treatment abroad," said DAB Secretary-General Abdus Salam in a written statement at the press conference.

Abdus Salam further said that the medical board set up to treat Khaleda Zia disclosed in a press conference on November 28 that all of the doctors are concerned about her present health situation.

According to them, Khaleda's treatment in Bangladesh is no longer possible.

He said Khaleda Zia is suffering from various diseases.

On November 12, she was taken to Evercare Hospital for examination. She was later admitted to the hospital with liver problems which caused internal bleeding. By the method of band ligation, doctors tried to stop the bleeding.

Salam continued, "As she is a patient of diabetes and heart failure, internal bleeding may increase her risk of death. The only technology (band ligation) available in Bangladesh has already been applied to her. There is no other country in the subcontinent or all of Asia that uses such a modern method of applying TIPS technology. This technology is only available in a few specific hospitals in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. Therefore, arrangements should be made to take her abroad as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be difficult to transfer her later."

The former prime minister was sentenced to prison in February 2018 after being convicted in a graft case. Following the breakout of Covid-19, the authorities accepted her family's plea for her temporary parole on March 25, last year.

Since then, Khaleda's family and the BNP have been loud about allowing her to seek treatment overseas. However, the government claims she is unable to leave the country due to the terms of her temporary parole.