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Police in Indian police uncover group responsible for the illegal sale of hundreds of kidneys

By team ⋅ March 27, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

The Guardian, 29th January

Police in India raided hospitals and guesthouses as part of an investigation into the illegal removal of kidneys from up to 500 labourers which were sold to wealthy clients. They arrested one doctor, a driver and three middlemen in the raid, and rescued five ‘donors’, three of whom had already had their kidneys removed. Police suspect that dozens of doctors were involved in the racket, which had a waiting list of 40 people from at leave five countries.

The scheme, centred on Gurgaon, a wealthy suburb of New Delhi used luxury cars fitted with blood-testing machines to test donors, as well as surgical equipment hidden inside a residential neighbourhood.

The investigation is continuing and police are raiding hospitals’ offices and guesthouses. The main suspects, who police say have been tied to organ trade in the past, for example Amit Kumar who is the alleged mastermind of this group, have apparently fled the country.

‘We suspect around 400 to 500 illegal kidney transplants were done by these doctors over the last nine years’, said Mohinder Lal, Gurgaon’s police commissioner.

Amit Kumar was arrested in 1994 for running a similar clinic in Bombay, but disappeared after being freed on bail and moved his alleged operation to several other cities

There have long been reports of poor Indians illegally selling their kidneys, but this transplant racket in Gurgaon is one of the most extensive to come to light to date. Accounts varied on whether the labourers were aware they were selling their kidneys or whether doctors removed them without consent.

Mohd Salid, a victim of this crime, said the scam began when a stranger approached him, offering him work. ‘I was taken to a room with gunmen;, he told the NDTV television news channel.

‘They tested my blood, gave me an injection, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I had pain in my lower abdomen and I was told that my kidney had been removed.’

He did not say whether he was pain, but the Hindustan Times reported that those who were paid for their organs earned 50,000-100,000 rupees, which amounts to about £650-£1,300.

Several patients waiting for a transplant were at hospitals and guesthouses when police raided them on Friday, but they were allowed to return to their countries without being detained for questioning.

The case has ignited an international discussion of organ transplant law. India banned the trade in human organs in 1994, but non-governmental organisations suggest that over 2000 human kidneys are still sold in India every year. The Indian Medical Association is calling for legislation to make organ transplants easier, suggesting that this would remove the necessity of illegal rings.