Controversy: Apollo Hospital Embroiled in Illegal Kidney Racket accusations, Denies all claims

New Delhi: The name of Apollo Hospitals has been embroiled in controversy after London-based newspaper 'The Telegraph' alleged the involvement of the hospital in illegal 'cash for kidney racket' scam.

According to the Daily, the hospital allegedly purchases kidneys from poor people in Myanmar illegally and sells their organs for profit to rich Burmese patients.

Even though it is illegal in India to pay for organs, one of the agents involved in the racket allegedly told an undercover Telegraph reporter that "it's big business".

Since the Indian and Burmese laws do not normally allow a patient to receive an organ donation from a stranger in normal circumstances, the scam allegedly operates by elaborating the forging of identity documents and staging of 'family' photographs to present donors as the relatives of would-be patients.

The Telegraph also named a senior renowned nephrologist who was allegedly named by patients and agents as the surgeon conducting the transplants. However, the doctor has rebuffed the report and denied any knowledge of the illegal activities identified by the Daily. He added that linking him to a transnational organ transplant racket was "offensive and laughable". The report also mentioned that no evidence has been found to contradict this.

Meanwhile, after the shocking newspaper report, Indraprastha Medical Corporation Ltd. (IMCL) on Monday asserted that it follows every legal and ethical requirement for transplants, including government guidelines. Refuting the Telegraph report, the hospital, a part of the Apollo Hospitals group, said that each foreign donor is required to provide a certification from their respective foreign governments that the donor and the recipient are indeed related before undertaking the transplant.

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The report by The Telegraph was published on Sunday. Allegedly, the newspaper got to know about the racket through the case of Daw Soe Soe, a 58-year-old patient, who was reported to have paid 8 million Myanmar kyat (£31,000) for a new kidney in September 2022. The process of organ transplantation, allegedly, was conducted at the Indraprastha Hospital, which is Apollo's flagship hospital in Delhi. The patient allegedly informed the newspaper that her donor was a complete stranger.

"I am aware that both Myanmar and India laws do not allow strangers to donate organs. But since we are in Myanmar, the agent teaches us to tell the fake story that we are relatives," she was quoted saying by The Telegraph.

Following this, the Telegraph reporter posed as a relative sick aunt who urgently needed a kidney transplant but had no family members to able to donate it. They allegedly contacted the Myanmar offices of Apollo and were informed that a stranger would be sourced to donate their kidney.

The report claimed that a doctor, who allegedly works for Apollo office in Myanmar informed the undercover reporter "If none of them [relatives] is possible, we will have to find a donor. It’s easy to find a donor."

Another man, whom the report described as a representative of Apollo, informed that 80 percent of transplantations facilitated in Myanmar are between strangers and only 20% were relatives.

"The reporter was then introduced...to a 27-year-old man from the outskirts of Mandalay who said he needed to sell his kidney as his elderly parents, whom he lived with, were "not in a good financial condition", added the report.

It further mentioned that the agent, who was present for the conversation, said that it would cost around £3,000 for the man’s kidney and revealed she had been arranging donations of this kind for the past five years.

The report added that one of the undercover reporter described the process of how before going to India, they fake photographs to submit to the board to establish relations between the donor and the recipient. "They have to make the photos look old. It’s like a photoshoot. You put them in all creased and crumpled," the agent allegedly informed. 

Thereafter, the report went on to name a Myanmarese doctor, who was described as the head of Apollo's Myanmar operations. As per the report, the concerned doctor showed an Apollo-branded costs document which allegedly gave a break-up of the expenses linked to the entire process of transplantation- from the drawing up of a family tree (£315) to flights (£200 each way) and “registration for the medical board” (£160).

As per the document, a patient is expected to pay, in total, up to £17,100 for a kidney transplant- excluding the money paid to a donor. In this context, the report named a doctor from the hospital, who alleged that huge amounts of money changed hands to facilitate such illegal transplantations.

The doctor added that a patient would be able to "choose" their donor and thereafter arrange a payment to the individual. "In most cases it’s 70 or 80 [lakh]," he added - 7 to 8 million Myanmar kyats, or £2,700 to £3,110.

"Once a price is agreed, with an upfront cash payment subsequently made, the pair are then flown to India for their interview with the transplant authorisation committee, which is made up of several Apollo hospital officials and government-appointed members," added the report by Telegraph.

Apollo Denies Accusations: 

Responding to the queries regarding the international media report alleging the involvement of the hospital in the 'cash for kidney racket', Indraprastha Medical Corporation Ltd (IMCL) on Monday asserted that it follows every legal and ethical requirement for transplants, including government guidelines

Commenting on the matter, the Company spokesperson was quoted saying by PTI, "To be clear, IMCL complies with every legal and ethical requirement for the transplant procedures including all guidelines laid down by the government as well as our own extensive internal processes that exceed compliance requirements."

Further, the spokesperson said, "the allegations made in the recent international media against IMCL are absolutely false, ill-informed and misleading. All the facts were shared in detail with the concerned journalist."

Elaborating on the hospital's process for the illegal kidney transplant, the spokesperson said IMCL requires every donor to provide Form 21 notarised by the appropriate ministry in their country.

"This form is a certification from the foreign government that the donor and recipient are indeed related," the spokesperson said and added that the government-appointed transplant authorisation committee at IMCL reviews documents for each case and interviews the donor and the recipient.

According to the spokesperson, IMCL re-validates the documents with the concerned embassy of the country. The patients and donors undergo several medical tests, including genetic testing.

"These and many more steps far exceed any compliance requirements for a transplant procedure and ensure that donor and recipient are indeed related as per applicable laws. IMCL remains committed to the highest standards of ethics and to delivering on our mission to bring the best healthcare to all," asserted the spokesperson.

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