Health Min asks states and universities to take strict action against hospitals involved in illegal transplants

NEW DELHI, Apr 21: The Union Health Ministry has asked all states and colleges to investigate any violations and take appropriate action, including suspension of registration, against hospitals carrying out illegal organ transplants, officials said on Sunday.
In a letter to all states and UTs, Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Government of India, urged all states and Union Territories to regularly collect and share data on all transplant cases, including that of foreigners. monthly at the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO).
The ministry’s decision comes more than two weeks after an organ trafficking case involving Bangladeshi nationals was busted in Haryana and Rajasthan.
Referring to media reports reporting commercial transactions in bodies involving foreign citizens, Dr. Goel said, “NOTTO’s registry has also revealed that there has been a rise in the number of organ transplants from foreigners in the country, which calls for monitoring of such transplants by the concerned state or UT government authority.”
Goel, in the April 10 letter, directed that the competent authority of the state, appointed under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994, should investigate the transplant cases of foreign nationals in their respective states.
He also asked the officials to take appropriate action whenever any violation of any provision of the law or any of the rules made under it is noticed.
“Investigate any violation of the THOTA, 1994 and the rules thereunder and take appropriate action, including suspension of registration for organ transplantation, of the hospitals involved in illegal activities,” the letter said.
“It should be ensured that a unique NOTTO ID for both donor and recipient is generated by the hospital from the NOTTO website (www.Notto. Mohfw.Gov.In), in all cases of organ transplantation, whether sourced from a living donor or from a deceased donor. donor,” the letter said.
In addition to NOTTO ID being mandatory when considering organ allocation in the case of a deceased donor transplant, in the case of a living donor transplant this ID will also be generated at the earliest, at least within 48 hours of the transplant, it said ministry: added it.
The letter called for the establishment of a system for regular inspection of the registered transplant or retrieval hospitals by the competent authority of the state, to monitor on-site their activities, quality of transplantation, postoperative follow-up of donor and recipient and their outcome. of the transplant.
“Time and again, letters have been written to states for sharing data related to organ donation and transplantation with NOTTO. However, complete data is still not being received. It is once again requested to ensure that data of all transplant cases, including those of foreigners, are collected regularly on a monthly basis and shared with NOTTO,” the ministry said.
The Health Ministry also asked all states and UTs to submit action reports based on the directions within 15 days.
On April 4, a joint team of the CM flight team, Gurugram health department and police busted a gang that was getting kidney transplants done for money at two private hospitals in Jaipur, officials said.
The racket was busted after a raid on a hotel in Gurugram where a Bangladeshi national was found who had undergone a kidney removal procedure at a hospital in Jaipur under “suspicious” financial arrangements, they said. (PTI)