Chinese patient leaves will demanding 300,000 yuan compensation in case he dies in minor operation

A patient in Hunan province wrote a will before undergoing an operation, ordering his family to pursue at least 300,000 yuan (HK$380,000) as compensation from the hospital if he died on the operation table.

The will, which a doctor found in the operating theatre on Friday, was posted online on Saturday, Shanghai-based news portal The Paper reported.

The incident underscored the deep distrust between patients and their doctors in China.

Cai Yue, head of The People's Hospital's general office in Miluo city, said the patient was a man in his 60s who underwent an operation to have his bladder stones removed. The procedure went smoothly, she said.

"It was a minor operation," Cai was quoted as saying.

The will stated that if the man died from the procedure, the hospital was to compensate his family no less than 300,000 yuan. "The body will definitely not be sent out of the hospital's gates until the compensation is received," the note read.