LAHORE: At least eight suspects, including asurgeon, were taken into custody in a joint raid conducted by police and the Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority (P-HOTA) in Sheikhpura district on Tuesday.

Sources say that all the suspects were arrested red-handed when the kidney transplant surgery was being performed.

A video clip showed both the recipient and the donor undergoing the kidney transplant procedure, being performed by the surgeon, identified as Dr Waqas, along with his staff, including two female employees and a male ‘technician’.

The video showed that the precautionary measures were blatantly violated and the surgery being performed in a highly unhygienic environment in a private health facility on the Sheikhupura-Faisalabad road.

The raiding team took Dr Waqas and seven others into custody.

An official privy to the raid says the donor belongs to a poor family and was approached and convinced by a member of the illegal transplant network, who offered him Rs500,000 for “donating” his kidney.

The official said the recipient was a foreigner who had to pay Rs7 million to the surgeon and his team for the illegal kidney transplant. The Sheikhpura deputy district health officer was also part of the joint raiding team, the official said.

The officials later shifted both the recipient and the donor to the District Headquarters Hospital, Sheikhpura, under the supervision of qualified health professionals.

The donor told the police that he was approached by a local quack, who offered him Rs500,000 for a kidney donation. The police initiated criminal proceedings against the arrested suspects, while raids were being conducted to nab other members of the racket, the police official said.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2025