KARACHI: PMA seeks curbs on illegal organ transplants
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 27: The Pakistan Medical Association on Monday expressed concern over the flourishing business of unlawful kidney transplant in the country.
At a press conference, PMA’s former president Dr Syed Tipu Sultan and Karachi chapter’s president Dr Naseer Ahmed Baloch and Secretary Dr Qaiser Sajjad said approximately Rs1 billion were involved in that racket.
“Kidney market of Pakistan is attracting people even from foreign countries since there is no law banning sale of human organs in our country and no clearances are needed from Pakistani health authorities in carrying out such illegal transplants,” Dr Sultan said.
He said that taking advantage of the situation; hundreds of Indians were also visiting Pakistan. These trip, he said, were called kidney tourism.
“Flooding hospitals in Lahore and Rawalpindi are looking for easy way for kidney transplant, since Indian laws prohibit such trade and transplants,” Dr Sultan said.
According to him, earlier India was leading in the organ sale business but now Pakistan had acquired the same status.
“Pakistan is the only country rather I can say the only Islamic country where absence of such laws have favoured the commercialisation of human organs, benefiting foreign buyers and other exploiters in the private sector,” said Dr Baloch.
He said organs were being purchased from unrelated donors and 60 per cent beneficiaries were foreigners (mainly from the Middle East and Europe).
“Poverty is the main culprit behind boost of this racket. Mostly farmers are forced to sell their kidneys cheaply, say $2,500 and sometimes half of that amount while recipients pay $10,000-12,000. A huge chunk of money goes to the racketeers,” he said.
Dr Sajjad said that two weeks back in Punjab, a woman Nasreen Kausar with her sister, six brothers, five sisters-in-law and two nephews sold one kidney each.
“Private hospitals, doctors and middle men (agents) are involved in this dirty business. This is purely an unethical and inhuman activity in the name of saving life and in the name of humanity,” he said.
He said a donor needed constant follow-up checkups to keep their blood pressure and sugar under control so that the remaining kidney remained safe. “But there is no system of post-operative checkup for donors,” he deplored
Dr Sultan said that in a developing country like Pakistan 73,000 kidneys, 22,000 livers, 20,000 hearts and 7,000 lungs were needed for transplantation but only 1.6 per cent was available for failing organ replacement.
“In Pakistan there are 120 dialysis centers, majority of them in the private sector. There are 20 transplant centers, 19 of which are operating on commercial basis”, he informed.
PMA Karachi praised the Supreme Court of Pakistan for its instructions given to the Attorney General of Pakistan to provide information about the legislation to curb the unlawful organ trade in the country.
The PMA Karachi demanded that the parliament should immediately pass the bill (law for organ donation for transplantation) which was already pending since many years so that the life of the poor people could be saved.
