Girls face bias in heart surgery too

A study conducted by doctors at the AIIMS has found that among children who require heart surgery, boys have a much better chance of undergoing the procedure than girls.

Even when faced with life-threatening ailments, girls are discriminated against in India. A study conducted by doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has found that among children who require heart surgery, boys have a much better chance of undergoing the procedure.

Published in the medical journal Heart, the study interviewed parents of 405 children aged up to 12 years who had been advised to undergo elective pediatric cardiac surgery at AIIMS. When their status was reviewed after a year, doctors found 44% (59/134) of the girls had undergone surgery against 70% (189/271) of boys.

The study estimates that for every 70 boys who undergo an operation for congenital heart defect, only 22 girls undergo the surgery.

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