Basu brain preserved

Doel Basu comes out of her father Chandan’s house after a shradh ceremony for her grandfather Jyoti Basu on Wednesday. Chandan chanted mantras for four hours from 10am as part of the puja on the 11th day of his father’s demise. He sat in front of Basu’s photograph, placed on a stool in a pandal on the terrace of his four-storey house in Salt Lake. Priest Paresh Tripathy and three others from the Kalighat temple read out from the scriptures. “We observed Baba’s shradh strictly in accordance with the scriptures,” Chandan’s wife Rakhi said. Ramala, the widow of Subhas Chakraborty, and Basu’s confidential assistant Joykrishna Ghosh were also present.
The brain that had ruled Bengal for 23 years has been permanently preserved. The dissection of Jyoti Basu’s body and the subsequent preservation of his organs began today at the laboratory inside the anatomy department of SSKM hospital.

“A team of 10 postgraduate trainees and senior professors started the dissection procedure and brought out Basu’s brain for preservation,” said Asish Dutta, head of the anatomy department.

Doctors said the process began at noon and took close to one-and-a-half hours. According to the doctors, the dissection of Basu’s skull started from his forehead.

“After taking the brain out, we dipped it in formalin solution — made up of formaldehyde, ethyl alcohol and glycerine — for long-term preservation,” said Dutta.

The doctors also plan to preserve the other body parts over the next four days. “After the successful preservation of the brain, we will dissect his body to bring out his lungs, intestines, kidneys, heart and liver. The condition of the body is still very good for preservation of its organs,” said a doctor. The doctors stressed that Basu’s body was fit for preservation, though there was fluid accumulation in several parts.

“Our doctors did a real good job. The fluid was partly drained out by cutting the skin in some areas. Some of it was dried inside the body with the help of chemical embalming. The organs are unfit for transplantation but good enough for preservation,” said Pradip Mitra, director, Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research at the hospital.

Basu’s body was donated to the hospital’s anatomy department on January 19, two days after he died. After that, it was injected with embalming fluid and put in a temperature-controlled cold chamber.

“If the body is kept in the cold chamber for a long duration, it becomes very stiff and unfit for dissection and research. Hence our officials used to bring the body out of the cold chamber and put it in formalin solution for some time on alternate days,” said Dutta.

However, Dutta added that Basu’s body was not given special treatment.

The doctors also plan to preserve Basu’s bones. “After the organ preservation, they will dissect his body further and loosen the muscles to bring out the bones. But the doctors are uncertain about the condition of the bones, which may have become fragile because of fluid accumulation and old age. Depending on the condition, they will decide whether to preserve it as a skeleton,” a hospital source said.

However, the authorities are still undecided on whether to put his organs in the department’s anatomy museum. “We will decide later whether to showcase his organs at our museum. We are waiting for instructions from the state government,” Mitra said.

Dutta said a number of senior professors and students from the other departments wanted a glimpse of Basu’s body.

“However, under the norms, we have not allowed any unauthorised person to watch the body. He is no more the former chief minister of Bengal. It is just like another body to be used exclusively for research,” said Dutta.

Policemen continue to be posted inside the building. The authorities plan to keep the force till the preservation process is complete.

The hospital sources said they had received no communication from National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), Bangalore, which had earlier expressed a desire to preserve Basu’s brain.
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