Express Investigation: Inside a kidney racket at two major hospitals
Oct 23, 2024
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Kaunain Sheriff, Health Editor at The Indian Express, dives into a shocking kidney trafficking racket linked to major hospitals in Delhi. The discussion reveals disturbing details about forged documents and the exploitation of vulnerable donors. Sheriff highlights a swiftly approved operation that raises ethical concerns and legal challenges. The episode underscores the alarming intersection of medical tourism and corruption, as well as the dire consequences for those involved in this illicit trade.
The investigation reveals a sophisticated kidney racket exploiting India's unregulated medical tourism, highlighting significant ethical concerns in organ transplantation practices.
Systemic corruption and forged documents facilitated a network of deceit, underscoring urgent needs for regulatory reforms in organ donation laws and practices.
Deep dives
Unique Kidney Racket Investigation
An investigation has unveiled a sophisticated kidney racket primarily targeting Bangladeshi patients, revealing deep-rooted issues within India's unregulated medical tourism sector. Unlike typical cases that involve middlemen, this racket features a nephrologist who performed surgeries in multiple reputable hospitals, thus elevating the scale of deceit. The investigation found her linked to a syndicate that fabricated documentation, including fake family trees to establish non-existent relationships between donors and recipients. This highlights how the profit-driven motives of the medical tourism industry are being exploited, necessitating urgent regulatory scrutiny.
Fraudulent Approval Processes
The podcast explains the complicated approval process for kidney transplantation in India, which is meant to prevent exploitation and ensure ethical practices. In this case, however, it was discovered that the necessary Form 21 documents were forged, leading to the approval of non-existent relatives as organ donors. The investigation also detailed how a ghost lab in Dhaka produced falsified medical documents that supported the eligibility of these bogus donors, as well as evidence of systemic corruption in the approval process. This alarming discovery underlines a significant loophole in the laws governing organ transplants and reveals a network of collusion that bypasses established protocols.
Economic Drivers Behind Kidney Rackets
The podcast addresses the persistent prevalence of kidney rackets, attributing it to a critical supply-demand mismatch in organ transplants, particularly for kidneys. Chronic kidney disorders are on the rise, and many desperate patients seek transplants, which fuels unscrupulous practices targeting impoverished individuals who might be willing to sell a kidney for financial gain. These vulnerable individuals often receive minimal compensation, if any, after being coerced into donating their organs. The cyclical nature of poverty and desperation leads to a thriving black market for kidneys, necessitating comprehensive reforms in organ donation practices.
The Delhi police are currently investigating an international kidney transplant racket that was allegedly being run by individuals with links to two well known hospitals in the National Capital Region—Apollo and Yatharth.
An investigation of case records by The Indian Express, including interrogation reports, international approval forms, and call records, lay bare the racket that led to the arrest of 10 individuals, including a 50-year-old surgeon who allegedly conducted around 20-25 transplants for Bangladeshi patients over the past three years.
In this episode, The Indian Express’ Health Editor, Kaunain Sheriff, who led the investigation for the paper, discusses its key findings and the concerns it raises.
You can read the first part of the investigation here.
Hosted and produced by Shashank Bhargava Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
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