Barbarian Act
| Date :06-Sep-2020 |
By ANSHUMAN BHARGAVA ;
“Organ donations from cadavers and brain-dead patients in India are not enough to meet the requirement of over one lakh people annually who require a kidney transplant.”
“This is the advantage that the traders cash in. They even coax and force the prospective poor donors to part with their organ so that their trade is not affected and are threatened with life if they don’t fall in line.”
COPS in Delhi recently nabbed an Ayurvedic doctor who had murdered over a 100 people and reportedly ran a kidney racket. Devender Sharma, 62, the alleged mastermind behind the murders of many truck and taxi drivers from Delhi and its neighbouring States is said to be running a kidney transplant racket. People are shocked at how he killed his victims and dumped their bodies in a crocodile-infested canal in Uttar Pradesh, to make sure he left no trace of his crime.
The exact number of people he killed is unknown. Reportedly, when police arrested him and questioned him, Sharma said he had lost count after 50 murders. The national capital region is a well-known kidney racket hub and incidents of illegal dealings and arrests have surfaced frequently from time to time. Understandably, there are several sections of people involved in this burgeoning and lucrative trade that include doctors, hospitals, police, brokers, donors as well as medical support staff. The value of the trade is pegged well over Rs 100 crore.
The arrest of Sharma is not a stray case, nor is it very surprising. There are several people like Sharma who are deeply involved in the illegal mess, including top urologists and nephrologists as well as cops from UP and Delhi. Last year, just about this time, over 15 people were arrested in Delhi over the same allegations. Those arrested included a CEO of a med research institute. Notices were also served to two reputed doctors of the coveted and creditable Fortis Hospital for violation of the Transplantation of Human Organs (and Tissue) Act, 1994. This legislation was brought in with the objective of “regulating the removal, storage, and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and for the prevention of commercial dealings in human organs.”
During investigations, global links emerged wherein a Delhi-based doctor, Ketan Kaushik was found to be handling international clientele for the group. He reportedly brought patients for kidney transplants from countries like Turkey, UAE, and other places in the Middle East. The local touts here did the work of arranging the donors. There was enough evidence to prove that the accused removed the kidneys of at least 12 donors for a huge amount of money taken from the recipients’ family. Insiders say this is only the tip of the iceberg as the rot runs much deeper.
There is not one but several groups and cartels involved in the business and busting of one gang don’t change the bigger picture. Raids and arrests are regular happenings in the NCR region and elsewhere too, yet the trade survives and flourishes under the very nose of the police and administration. In 2003, a kidney racket was busted in Amritsar. In 2004, a Bombay hospital-based kidney racket was unearthed. Again, in 2007, a Chennai-based racketeer was arrested in Mumbai and several internal linkages were revealed. In 2008, a Gurgaon-based kidney racket was busted. The list just goes on and on, yet we are still living with this reality. Poverty plays a big role in abetting this business. Impoverished donors are pushed into the trade and they readily agree to participate as it fetches them money, though the lion’s share is cornered by the doctors and those who liaison.
It is said that a kidney can fetch as much as Rs 70-90 lakh depending on the urgency and the financial condition of the receiver, yet the donor never gets more than Rs 2-3 lakh from that. But for the poor, even some money is better than no money. Organ donations from cadavers and brain-dead patients in India are not enough to meet the requirement of over one lakh people annually who require a kidney transplant. This is the advantage that the traders cash in.
They even coax and force the prospective poor donors to part with their organ so that their trade is not affected and are threatened with life if they don’t fall in line. There will always be a huge demand and supply discrepancy in India unless voluntary organ donation comes up in a big way. Under the law, only those related to the patient are allowed to donate organs. This reduces the number of prospective organ donors. Further, there is a lack of awareness in people and also religious and ethical reservations that come into play. Against the demand of 2 lakh kidneys, only about 6,000 are available in India. Similarly, against the demand of 30,000 livers, only 1,500 are available and against the demand of 50,000 hearts merely 15 were available across the country. According to the Multi-Organ Harvesting Aid Network Foundation, an NGO working on organ donation, only about 3 per cent of the organ demand is met. And as long as this gap persists, the nefarious trade will flourish.
At least that is what the trend shows, given our current level of corruption and the efficacy of the policing system. A 2003 report in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics rightly said, “If the organ trade is not controlled, disappearances, especially among street children (and) kidnapping rackets may flourish along with the theft of organs of executed criminals in future…” The latest culprit Sharma perfectly fits the definition and may portend a new, more sinister trend in the offing. But such a trend is not only detrimental to the life and security of a large section of the poor, but it also tarnishes the image of the medical profession and shakes the credibility of our hospitals and healthcare system.
This is a greater danger. The effect of this wrongdoing by some medicos and hospitals will also fall on good doctors and hospitals and people’s doubts and mistrust fostered by such trends will manifest in irascible actions in random and sporadic incidents of violence, as we often see these days. India is already short of doctors and hospitals and if the rift between the public and the medical profession widens further, it will spell collective doom for both sides. More scarily, there is no sure shot way out to end this billion dollars international business.
There is no tried and tested recipe or weapon or magic wand with any Government or administration to end this for good. By the way, it is much like the international poaching trade or drug trade or human trafficking, which is very hard to track and crack, given the deep links and involvement of bigwigs the network runs on. We will have to live with this malady of society as long as people are not more civilised and less greedy.