SHAMEFUL SILENCE

I am deeply disheartened by Dr. Ali Rajput’s disclosure that he is no longer available to take autopsy calls, which is a 24/7 commitment.

To his credit, Rajput has managed these vital calls for 46 years voluntarily. His subsequent work on human brains has put Saskatchewan at the forefront of research in the area of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.

For research, it is absolutely necessary to have experts in the field. Nobel Prize nominee Oleh Hornykiewicz of Austria spoke of Rajput’s brain lab as the most valuable collection in the world.

Individuals in Saskatchewan have made the very personal decision to donate their brains because of their trust in Rajput and his uncompromising commitment to work on a cure for the noted disorders. Significant amounts of money have also been donated by the thousands of people affected by these diseases, and by others who value the research for which Rajput is recognized worldwide.

This situation is incomprehensible on two levels. First, that work of this magnitude has remained unpaid and unrecognized for such an extended period, and second, that there has been no discernible effort to rectify it so that new experts can be hired.

Reporters interviewed Rajput in March when he announced that he no longer was able to take the autopsy calls. Since then, the silence has been deafening.

It is shameful that cutting-edge research, potential brain donations and the faith of thousands of funders have been obliterated by the shortsighted behaviour of a university that needs to promote research. Shirley McGuire Saskatoon