The Hindu : National : CJI: no need for changes in kidney transplant law

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CJI: no need for changes in kidney transplant law

New Delhi: As the government contemplates amending the Organ Transplantation Act in the wake of the kidney racket, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan on Saturday said the present laws were sufficient but they need to be implemented properly.

“Sufficient laws are there, they just need to be implemented properly,” Mr. Balakrishnan told reporters when asked about the need for stricter laws to check illegal transplantation of organs.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a conference on ‘prevention of kidney disease’ at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here.

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss had recently said the Act would be amended to simplify the procedure and make the punishment for illegal transplant more stringent to curb unlawful practices.

‘A layman’

In his speech, the Chief Justice said: “In a conference like this, I am totally a layman. I do not know the implications of kidney diseases. When they say kidney, it reminds me of police, retention and arrest.”

Against the need for nearly 12,000 to 16,000 nephrologists, India has only 800, Head of AIIMS Forensics Department T.D. Dogra said. — PTI

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