The Delhi government received 9,427 suggestions (File)
The Delhi government has finalised the names of three doctors that will be recommended to the centre for the Padma awards, one of the highest civilian awards of the country.
Dr SK Sarin from Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), Dr Suresh Kumar from Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP), and Dr Sandeep Budhiraja from Max have been named.
The state government had received 9,427 suggestions, out of those 740 were for doctors and the rest for paramedical staff.
The names were picked by a three-member committee chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Earlier, the Delhi government had announced that it will recommend only doctors and paramedic staff for Padma Awards and had invited suggestions for names.
The first plasma bank of the country, and of the world, was started by Dr Sarin, vice chancellor of ILBS, said the government.
The bank operates 24 hours and has donated more than 8,000 plasma units, said the government.
Dr Sarin is also credited with starting Delhi's first RT-PCR - the gold standard in Covid tests - facility.
Delhi's first genome sequencing lab, the government said, is also to Dr Sarin's credit. The doctor also guided the government's efforts during the tough Covid times, it said.
Dr Suresh Kumar, the second nominated person, is medical director of LNJP, the hospital credited with treating 20,500 Covid patients - the most in the country. Dr Kumar also started the country's second plasma bank at LNJP.
Amid restrictions, Dr Kumar started a video call facility for coronavirus patients admitted at the hospital so that they could talk to their loved ones.
It is at LNJP that Covid positive pregnant women could give birth.
The third nominated doctor, Dr Sandeep Budiraja, who is medical director at Max, led the country's first plasma treatment at Max.