Inquiry ordered into Delhi hospital’s role in kidney scam
New Delhi, December 5
The Health Ministry today ordered an inquiry against the ‘cash for kidney’ racket in Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.
British newspaper, The Telegraph, in a report titled “Revealed: Global private hospital group embroiled in ‘cash for kidneys’ racket” had raised allegations against the hospital two days ago.
The report alleged that young villagers from Myanmar were being flown to the hospital in Delhi and paid to donate their kidneys to rich patients in Myanmar.
The hospital has refuted the allegations and termed the report misleading. The spokesperson of Indraprastha Medical Corporation Limited (IMCL) said, “The allegations made in the recent international media against IMCL are absolutely false, ill-informed and misleading.”
The hospital spokesperson said all the facts were shared in detail with the journalist concerned. “The IMCL complies with every legal and ethical requirement for transplant procedures, including all guidelines laid down by the government as well as our own extensive internal processes that exceed compliance requirements,” the spokesperson said.
It is claimed that the IMCL requires every donor to provide Form 21 notarised by the appropriate ministry in their country. This form is a certification from the foreign government that the donor and recipient are indeed related.
“The government-appointed transplant authorisation committee at the IMCL reviews documents for each case, including this certification and interviews the donor and the recipient. It further re-validates the documents with the embassy of the country concerned,” the spokesperson said.
It was further noted that patients and donors undergo several medical tests, including genetic testing. These and many more steps far exceed any compliance requirements for a transplant procedure and ensure that donor and recipient are indeed related as per applicable laws.
‘Media report misleading’
- British newspaper, The Telegraph, in its recent report titled “Revealed: Global private hospital group embroiled in ‘cash for kidneys’ racket” had raised allegations against the Delhi hospital two days ago.
- The hospital has refuted the allegations and termed the report false, ill-informed and misleading.
