MUMBAI, March 27 -- Although Delhi resident Harish Rana's death-the first Indian permitted passive euthanasia-sparked much discussion on end-of-life choices, the BMC has yet to establish a system for recognising and ensuring the implementation of living wills. A living will is a registered document where one can enter one's end-of-life choices. The civic body has, however, begun setting up a system to accept and digitise living wills to ensure that medical professionals can access them. "We have received about 85 living wills from Mumbai residents," Hari Bhandirge, chairman of the civic health committee, told HT. "The BMC has already earmarked the medical officer of health in every ward who will accept such wills." A senior health department official said that while the BMC had been accepting the living wills, the process of their digitisation was being handled by the state government. "There were meetings held on this subject but it is yet to be implemented," he said. Bhandirge added that the BMC was awaiting guidelines from the government to set up a committee that would determine the standard operating procedures to be followed. Doctor and living will activist Nikhil Datar, the first person to register a living will on March 17, 2024, explained why it was important that the registered living be available in a digital format. "It should be accessible to doctors everywhere," he said. "They should also be able to verify that the will shown to them by a family member or nominee is from a recognised platform. Thirdly, the will needs to be available decades later when it might need to be implemented. For all this, digitisation is vital." When Dr Datar petitioned the court on the issue, the Maharashtra government had submitted that it would establish a digital portal within three months from April 2025. However, eight months since then, the living will available on digital platforms is yet to happen. Adv Lara Jesani said, "A living will is about making choices when one may not have the ability or control to decide one's course of action. Choices such as whether they wish to be kept on a ventilator or not, live in a coma or not, should be honoured by the authorities by ensuring that a policy is in place."...