The Hindu : 'Check trade in human organs'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 11, 2004

National

National

'Check trade in human organs'

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI, FEB. 10. Deeply concerned over the illegal trade in human organs especially in kidneys, the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Justice A.S. Anand, has written to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the Chief Ministers suggesting that remedial measures be adopted to check the pernicious practice.

In his letter Justice Anand said illegal trade in human organs often involved the exploitation of the poor and the violation of their human rights. There had been reports of organ trafficking involving clinicians, managers of clinical centres, middlemen and others. The practice of `organ purchase' had acquired dubious dimensions of `organ trade' with touts operating as middlemen, and with the creation of allegedly false records of a compassionate donation. "While several steps are reported to have been initiated in Karnataka to make the review process stricter, in the media, there are disturbing reports of this pernicious practice being widespread in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and a number of other States. This illegal trade in human organs is unethical and is a serious violation of human rights", he said.

Justice Anand said, "NHRC has come across a number of instances in which the `compassionate donor' provision in the Organ Transplantation Act is being abused. In many cases, the donor is an unrelated and unacquainted person who is lured into donating an organ such as the kidney by financial offers made by or on behalf of the prospective recipient".

He said NHRC had set up a core group of medical experts to go into issues relating to public health and human rights, and, in particular, about the trade in human organs.They collectively expressed the view that "the clause relating to `compassionate donation' in the Organ Transplantation Act had been frequently exploited in an unethical manner, which violates human rights."

Based on their suggestion, NHRC had called for the adoption of the following remedial measures: State Medical Councils should screen the records of hospitals performing organ transplants (especially kidney transplants) and estimate the proportion of transplants, which have been made through a `compassionate donor' mechanism.

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