QRG hospital under PGIMS scanner for illegal kidney transplant

Gurugram: Days after the police booked seven persons for cheating a 28-year-old woman to donate her kidney with the promise of a government job for her husband, the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak served notice to the QRG Hospital in Faridabad where the transplant took place.  

PGIMS asked the QRG hospital to respond to the allegations of an illegal kidney transplant that took place in the hospital. The police had booked seven people including the head of the nephrology department and a coordinator at the private hospital under charges of cheating, threatening life and organ trafficking. 

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A case was registered at the Faridabad police on December 17, 2022, against seven people under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act and also forgery after the woman filed a complaint against a Delhi-based engineer, the kidney recipient, a doctor, hospital staff, caretaker and family members of the kidney recipient for forcefully cheating her. 

The woman, Rinky Saurot, who used to run a small beauty parlour at her home, saw a social media advertisement in 2020 regarding kidney donation. She said, "I liked the post and forgot about it. Within two days, I started receiving calls and they asked me to meet them in Delhi. My husband and I went to meet the man who introduced himself as Vinod Magotra, an engineer by profession and said he was 56 years old. He was looking for a kidney donor and was yet to find a matching donor." 

In the complaint, she alleged, "The accused asked me if I was willing to donate my kidney and I refused. The accused then called me to an office in Delhi where one of their associates said he was in dire need of a kidney. They told me if I gave them my kidney, they would ensure a government job for my husband. Since I was facing financial hardship, I agreed." 

Rinky informed the Hindustan Times, "They lured me with false promises and I, along with my two children and husband, were confined to a room in Delhi. We were held hostage until the surgery for 18 months until August 2. When they used to take me for tests to the hospital, my family members were locked inside the room with at least four guards stationed outside. They used to threaten to kill us." 

Talking about how the accused forged her details, she said "I then refused to give them my kidney, but they threatened to kill us. I was scared and gave in to their demands. The main accused forged the name on my documents and ID and changed it to his wife’s name but used my photo on them. They forged marriage certificate documents similarly using her name on my documents. On August 2, they got me admitted to a private hospital in Faridabad for surgery and removed my kidney in connivance with hospital officials. After some time, I suffered an infection and fell ill due to the operation. When I sought the assistance of the accused, they threatened to kill me." 

After the surgery, the woman stated that she was left to die, as no one took care of her after the surgery and she had no money with her to take care of her health expenses. She said, "No one took care of me post-surgery and I was discharged after six days. We have no money to bear the health expenses and my husband, who was working in an office, was fired after the suspects created a ruckus in the office after he called them to take care of me. I am unable to sit, stand or walk and find it difficult to manage my home and health. I need urgent medical aid, else I will die due to the infection that has spread through my body." 

A case was registered by the police under sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (fraud), 471 (using forged document as genuine), 465 (forgery), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code and Sections 18, 19, 20 of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA), 1994 at Sector 17 police station of Faridabad.

Stating that no arrests have been made so far in the case, a police officer informed the Indian Express, "Seven people, including the head of the nephrology department of a private hospital and a coordinator at the hospital, have been booked. It is premature to say the accused were running a kidney transplantation racket. We have initiated a probe and are checking if the accused had duped more victims."

For the purposes of future investigation, Mohendra Verma, assistant commissioner of police, Faridabad said that they have requested the district’s chief medical officer to provide them a doctor who could be a part of the SIT investigation. 

Speaking about a three-member committee formed by the medical superintendent of PGIMS, Verma informed the Hindustan Times, "The court has granted interim bail to the kidney recipient. A notice has been issued by PGIMS, Rohtak, to QRG Hospital. A three-member team headed by the medical superintendent of PGIMS will investigate the case at QRG Hospital." He added, "The committee will examine documents submitted by the suspect before the surgery at the hospital."

The report by the committee would be submitted within ten days, and all documents related to the kidney transplant would be examined properly, said the police. 

Meanwhile, responding to the allegations, Dr Mahinder Singh Tanwar, medical superintendent at QRG Hospital said, "We have strictly complied with rules. The verified documents were re-verified by us and we had received documents notarised by government authorities." 

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