Allegations of Kidney Transplant Scam at Apollo Hospitals

The podcast episode discusses the troubling allegations of a kidney transplant scam involving Apollo Hospitals in India. The British media house, The Telegraph, revealed that wealthy individuals from Myanmar are flying to India for organ transplants and finding poor villagers to donate kidneys. Middlemen forge documents to create fake family ties, stage photo ops, and fabricate false stories to deceive the Transplant Authorization Committee. While Apollo Hospitals denies any knowledge of the scam, past accusations suggest a history of involvement. Organ trafficking is rampant in India due to income disparity and demand-supply gaps, with only 10,000 transplants conducted annually compared to the need for 200,000 transplants. Increasing the organ donation rate and considering an opt-out model for organ donation are potential solutions to combat illegal trafficking and address the shortage of organs.