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Kidney Transplant Racket Leaves More Than Physical Scars

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charlita

about 1 year ago

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The Virginian Pilot January 31 2008 by Sam Dolnick/The Associated Press - Gurgaon India - The last things Mohammed Salim remembered were the knees pinning him to the ground, the guns pointed at his head and the injection that sent him into oblivion. When he awoke, he was in agonizing pain, uncertain where he was or why he was wearing a hospital gown. "We have taken your kidney" a masked man explained. "if you tell anyone, we'll shoot you". Salim was one of the last victims in an organ transplant racket that police believe sold up to 500 kidneys to clients who traveled to India from around the world over the past nine years. Police say that when they raided the operation's main clinic in an upscale New Delhi suburb last week, they broke up a ring spanning five Indian states and involving at least four doctors, several hospitals, two dozen nurses and paramedics and a car outfitted as a laboratory. Subsequent raids uncovered a kidney transplant waiting list with 48 names. Only one doctor has been arrested so far, and police are searching for the alledged ringleader,Amit Kumar, who has several alias and has been accused in past organ transplant schemes elsewhere in India. Authorities believe he's fled the country. There has long been reports of poor Indians illegally selling kidneys but the transplant racket in Gurgaon is one of the most extensive to come to light and the first with an element of medical tourism. The low cost of medical care in India has made it a popular destination for foreignor's in need of everything from tummy tucks to heart surgery. This case has shocked the country, sparking debate about medical ethics and organ transplant laws. Some donors were forced onto the operating table at gunpoint, while others were tricked with promises of work, Lal said. There were also some who sold kidneys willingly, usually for between $1125 to $2250 the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. The sale of human organs is illegal in India. Salim said when he awoke and learned what happened, he thought he was soon to die-he didn't know you could live with one kidney. He lay in a haze of pain and confusion for a day, when the men, apparently tipped off to the coming raid, said they had to move him. Minutes later, police burst into the room and rescued Salim and two others who had also had their kidneys removed. He never recieved any money, he said.