Kidney Transplant Racket: TSMC issues notice to private hospital
Hyderabad: The Telangana State Medical Council (TSMC) has issued notices to Alakananda Hospital, Saroornagar after an illegal kidney transplantation racket came to light during a raid conducted by the Health Department. The Council is also working with the Telangana Health Department, which has constituted a four-member committee to investigate the racket.
Medical Dialogues recently reported that an illegal kidney transplant racket was busted at Alkananda Multi-Speciality Hospital in Rangareddy District of Hyderabad. The hospital’s managing director, along with other staff members, have been arrested for allegedly luring kidney donors from other states and bringing in external doctors to carry out the transplants. Kidneys donated by two women from Tamil Nadu were transplanted in two patients from Karnataka. Police shifted the kidney donors and two patients to the government-run Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad by ambulance.
Preliminary investigations revealed that donors, reportedly paid ₹4 lakh each for their kidneys, were from Tamil Nadu, while recipients, who paid ₹50 lakh for the transplants, hailed from Karnataka. According to a senior health official, the surgeries were allegedly performed on January 16 by doctors brought in from other states, reports The Hindu.
“We have taken suo moto cognizance of the development and have decided to serve notices to the hospital management. They have to share all their details of registrations. Later, the hospital doctors will have to appear before the Medical Ethics and Malpractice Committee of the Council and present their case. They may also get their registration suspended for 2 to 3 years in the coming weeks,” TSMC vice-chairman Dr G Srinivas told Telangana Today. The TSMC has directed the hospital management to provide detailed records, including the registration of doctors and surgeons involved in the transplants, as well as donor and recipient medical histories.
The committee, comprising Dr Nagender (former Superintendent, Osmania General Hospital), Dr Sadhana (anesthetist), Dr Mallikarjun (urologist), and Dr Kiranmayi (nephrologist), has already visited the seized hospital and collected information from the Rangareddy District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO), reports a Daily. Director of Medical Education, Dr. N. Vani, emphasized the government’s firm stance on addressing illegal organ trade, stating that no effort would be spared in holding those involved accountable. “The two kidney donors are very poor women who were lured into this racket,” she stated.
