Remedial measures suggested to check illegal trade in human organs

New Delhi, 10 February 2004
Deeply concerned about the illegal trade in human organs especially that in kidneys, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Justice A.S. Anand has written to the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chief Ministers of all States and Union Territories suggesting remedial measures be adopted to check this pernicious practice.
In his letter dated 29 January 2004, Dr. Anand said that illegal trade in human organs often involves exploitation of poor people and violation of their human rights. He said that there have been reports of organ trafficking involving clinicians, managers of clinical centers, middlemen and others. The practice of 'organ purchase' has acquired the dubious dimensions of 'organ trade' with touts operating as middlemen, and creation of allegedly false records of a compassionate donation. While several steps are reported to have been initiated in Karnataka to make the review process stricter, in the media there are disturbing reports of this pernicious practice being widespread in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and a number of other States. This illegal trade in human organs is unethical and is a serious violation of human rights, he said.
The National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Anand said, has come across a number of instances in which the 'compassionate donor' provision in the Organ Transplantation Act is being abused. In many cases, the donor is an unrelated and unacquainted person who is lured into donating an organ such as the kidney by financial offers made by or on behalf of the prospective recipient.
The Commission had constituted a Core Group of medical experts to go into issues relating to public health and human rights and in particular about the trade in human organs. They have collectively expressed the view that the clause relating to 'compassionate donation' in the Organ Transplantation Act has been frequently exploited in an unethical manner, which is violative of human rights. Based on their suggestion, the Commission has called for adoption of the following remedial measures :-
a) State Medical Councils should screen the records of hospitals performing organ transplants (especially kidney transplants) and estimate the proportion of transplants, which have been made through a 'compassionate donor' mechanism. In case of kidney transplants, wherever the proportion has exceeded 5% of the cases performed in any of the past 5 years, the State Medical Council should initiate a full fledged enquiry into the background of the donors and the recipients, as well as a careful documentation of the follow-up health status of the donor and the nature of after care provided by the concerned hospital. Wherever police enquiries are needed for such background checks, the help of the State Human Rights Commission may be sought for providing appropriate directions to the State agencies.
b) Cadaver Transplant programmes should be promoted to reduce the demand for 'live donors'.
c) Facilities for chronic renal dialysis should be increased and improved in hospitals, to provide alternatives to kidney transplantation.
d) Better facilities should be provided for transparent and effective counseling of prospective donors.
e) Wherever possible, a mechanism should be established for independent verification of the veracity of 'compassionate donation' by a group of experts, which is external to the hospital wherein the transplant procedure is proposed to be performed.
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