TN govt suspends transplant licences of two hospitals over kidney sale racket
Preliminary probe says daily wagers from Namakkal were convinced to donate kidneys for money, and surgeries were done at the two hospitals
The Tamil Nadu Health Department has suspended the kidney transplant licence of Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital, Perambalur, and Cethar Hospital, Trichy, in connection with a kidney sale racket in Namakkal.
The order by the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) came after a preliminary enquiry.
Probe into illegal kidney transplants
A statement from the health department on Wednesday (July 23) said that the action has been taken by the department, following reports of illegal kidney transplants in Namakkal.
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Dr S Vineeth, project director of Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project, is conducting an inquiry into the matter and will be submitting a report to the state health department on the same.
Following the allegations, Dr Vineeth, along with Dr RM Meenakshi Sundari, joint director at DMS, Dr A Rajmohan, joint director of medical and rural health services, Namakkal, Dr K Marimuthu, joint director of medical and rural health services, Perambalur and Ariyalur and Seetharaman, Deputy Superintendent of Police, conducted an inquiry at the two hospitals and the affected areas.
‘Daily wagers targeted’
As per preliminary investigation into the alleged organ transplant racket, it has been found that daily wage labourers from Pallipalayam and Kumarapalayam in Namakkal district were allegedly targeted by a kidney trafficking network to donate kidneys for money, and the surgeries were conducted at these hospitals.
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Dr Vineeth submitted a preliminary report to the Tamil Nadu government, and the DMS ordered the suspension of the kidney transplant licence of the two hospitals under Section 16 (2) of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, keeping in mind the welfare of the public, the statement from the state health department said.
A middleman has been accused of brokering kidney deals and is currently absconding. The racket allegedly used forged Aadhaar cards and medical documents to carry out surgeries.