Tamil Nadu cancels transplant licenses of 2 private hospitals over illegal organ trade
Chennai: After busting an illegal kidney transplant racket at Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College Hospital in Perambalur and Cethar Hospitals in Trichy, the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services has decided to permanently revoke their transplant licences.
Both private hospitals are accused of submitting forged documents to government accreditation committees to obtain transplant approvals, in violation of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.
Previously, the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services temporarily suspended the kidney transplant licences of the two private hospitals. However, an inquiry into the case revealed and confirmed serious irregularities and malpractices by both of these hospitals.
The investigation led by S Vineeth, project director, Tamil Nadu Urban Health Care Project, into the incident discovered that unrelated living donors were procured through brokers for monetary gain. Two brokers identified as Anandan and Stanley Mohan are key intermediaries in the illegal operations.
Also read- 2 Tamil Nadu Hospitals Face Licence Suspension Over Kidney Racket Allegations
Along with brokers, several hospital staff members, including transplant coordinators, were allegedly involved in the racket. They are accused of preparing fraudulent documents, falsely presenting donors as family relatives, and approving their surgeries. The inquiry report has recommended disciplinary action against the officials responsible for these illegal activities.
Medical Dialogues a month ago reported that a suspected kidney transplant racket came to light in Namakkal, where a broker allegedly targeted poor textile workers, lured them into selling their kidneys for money at two private hospitals - Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College Hospital in Perambalur and Cethar Hospitals in Trichy.
The donors were secretly taken to private hospitals, admitted as patients, and kept for a week to undergo the transplant in exchange for amounts ranging from Rs 5 to 10 lakh. After the procedure, they were handed over the money, which helped them to repay their debts. The brokers specifically targeted vulnerable and poor individuals who were in urgent need of money. Investigators suspected that the middlemen supplied poor donors to recipients under the guise of false familial relationships.
Further, the inquiry committee recommended restructuring the existing four district-level human organ transplant approval committees located in Chennai (Kilpauk), Madurai, Coimbatore and Dharmapuri, and creating a State-level committee to monitor their functioning. It further proposed mandatory video recording of donor–recipient interviews, retention of medico-legal records for ten years, provision of all forms in Tamil and English, and prominent display of warnings in hospitals against monetary organ donations along with complaint contact details, reports DT Next.
In response, the state government will introduce Standard Operating Procedures for district-level accreditation committees and set up a State-level committee to oversee organ transplant approvals across TN.
The report also recommended heightened scrutiny of applications from districts showing unusual transplant activity, twice-yearly audits of approval committee decisions, and regular public awareness drives on the illegality of organ sales.
Giving a thumbs up to all these recommendations, the state government has directed the DME to streamline accreditation procedures and ensure pre-approval medical and legal counselling for donors and recipients.
To prevent illegal organ transplantation, the State Appropriate Authority will conduct periodic inspections of all licensed transplant facilities, while district administrations will be tasked with running continuous awareness campaigns.
Also read- Hyderabad Kidney Transplant Racket: 2 Doctors with degrees from China, Ukraine under investigation
