The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Panel’s indifference a cause?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Panel’s indifference a cause?

Alladi Jayasri

‘The latest episode is an indication of an inadequate verification system’

BANGALORE: A liberal attitude of the Authorisation Committee that clears live unrelated organ transplants under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994, and an indifferent approach by the police in verifying the bona fide of the “donors”, could well be the reason why “agents” such as Mahadeva have been daring enough to run the flourishing racket.

According to sources, of the 149 renal transplants in 2006, more than 90 were unrelated and at least 81 of them were approved by the committee. The Appropriate Authority that monitors the implementation of the Act and regulates the transplant centres receives monthly reports on the number of transplants done at these centres, and details of the status of the recipients and donors, and whether they are related or unrelated.

The number of renal transplants (related and unrelated) for the past four years are: 2004 221; 2005 220; 2006 149; 2007 (up to May) 89. Sources, however, declined to give the number of unrelated transplants approved by the committee.

“The latest episode is an indication that the police verification system is inadequate, and no lessons have been learnt from the earlier racket during 1996-2000”, H. Sudarshan, who is the non-government organisation representative on the five-member Authorisation Committee, told The Hindu.

Earlier incident

During that time more than 1,016 unrelated renal transplants were reported, and an inquiry by the Lokayukta found that not a single “donor” could be traced, and the addresses provided by them were all fictitious.

Dr. Sudarshan, a former Vigilance Director (Health) in the Lokayukta, says if a vigilant police nails prospective donors with fictitious addresses and genealogy, the fear of being caught could discourage “agents” from pulling off such rackets.

G.K. Venkatesh, director of the Institute of Nephro-Urology Institute in Victoria Hospital and a member of the Appropriate Authority and the committee, says the only way to end the sale of kidneys is to amend the Act and ban unrelated transplants.

“This and extracting a firm commitment from the hospitals to promote cadaver organ transplants could help end the menace,” Dr. Venkatesh said.

But a Health Department official said vigilance and regulation of the 43 transplant centres (38 of them do renal transplants) in the State have been tightened in the last few months.

As many as 10 centres, which came up for licence renewal, were subjected to scrutiny, and renewal was granted only after they submitted details of the transplants done during the past five years.

Three more centres are up for renewal.

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