Woman Declared Dead By Hospital Was Found Breathing When Family Took 'Body' Home

A 53-year-old woman was alive when she was declared dead by a hospital in India, her family claimed Sunday. They also shared a video online that showed people frantically trying to help the woman breathe.

The woman was pronounced dead by doctors at a medical institute in the state of Uttar Pradesh and was taken off the life support system. When the family members took the body home, they found the woman was breathing, local media reports said.

In the video, the woman's close relatives were seen using an oxygen concentrator to help her. A pulse oximeter on the patient's finger showed normal readings. The family said the woman was still alive.

"My mother, who was under treatment in the hospital for the past three days, was declared dead on Sunday. We brought her home, but upon noticing that her heart was still beating, we put her on oxygen support but by the time we could reach a private hospital, she died," the patient's son, Sunil Kumar, told reporters, according to Morung Express.

A hospital spokesperson denied the allegations saying the patient's ECG report showed a cardiac flatline. He said she died in the hospital and was subsequently discharged.

"All necessary treatment was given, but she died of cardiac arrest," he said.

In a recent incident, a 72-year-old woman who was declared dead by doctors in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh was found alive minutes before her cremation.

The woman was admitted to a local hospital after having some health issues. Doctors were unable to find her vital signs and pronounced her dead. As the family began preparing for her cremation, the woman's granddaughter noticed that the woman was alive. An ambulance was called to transport the woman back to the hospital, but she died on the way.

"It can't be called negligence as the woman's granddaughter who too is a medico, was convinced that the woman is dead, that's why they took her to the crematorium," a hospital staff said at the time.