JAKARTA - Indonesia’s former president Suharto has suffered multiple organ failure and is on a ventilator, doctors said, while the Vice President had been summoned to his bedside to witness the 86-year-old’s death.The doctors said Suharto’s brain and other organs failed as his blood pressure fell and he had trouble breathing. “He is still in an unstable condition,” said Muhammad Munawar, a member of the medical team treating the former general. “We cannot say how long” he can be kept alive.
| "Give us a minute, though we're not sure we can give him one." |
IndonesiaÂ’s Vice President Jusuf Kalla had arrived at the hospital in order to be a witness at the former generalÂ’s death, said a source in KallaÂ’s office who did not want to be named. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is currently in Malaysia. Family members had earlier gathered at his bedside, witnesses said.
Suharto was taken to Pertamina hospital a week ago suffering from anaemia and low blood pressure due to heart, lung and kidney problems. His health worsened on Friday as doctors said he appeared to have a lung infection. The former general has been critically ill for several days, receiving blood transfusions and undergoing haemodialysis to drain excess fluid from his body.