Referring to the stringent provisions of the Central Transplant of Human Organs Act-1994 and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules-2014, Dr Deepak Sawant said on Tuesday, "The transplant law is clear.
Refusing to bow down to the pressure of the doctors' body, which has been protesting against the arrest of five LH Hiranandani hospital doctors in connection with the kidney racket, the health minister of Maharashtra has said that the CEOs and medical superintendents were indeed accountable for the wrongdoings in a hospital.
Referring to the stringent provisions of the Central Transplant of Human Organs Act-1994 and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules-2014, Dr Deepak Sawant said on Tuesday, "The transplant law is clear. CEOs and medical superintendents are accountable for wrongdoings in transplant cases."
"The Local Authorisation Committee (LAC) of the hospital is supposed to examine old photographs, showing donor and recipient together. They have to examine the documentary evidence of their relationship and proof that they have lived together. They also have to evaluate that no middleman or tout is involved," said Dr Sawant, pointing towards lapses on part of Hiranandani hospital's top bosses.
The rules also stipulate that the LAC must video-record interviews of donor and recipient, evaluate their financial status, ask for income documents for the last three financial years, and ascertain any gross disparity between the two to prevent commercial dealing. The committee also needs to evaluate if the donor or near relative has the awareness about the donation process, and all these proceedings must be video-recorded.
The rules further state that hospitals that conduct 25 or more transplants in a year are supposed to have an institutional authorisation committee to supervise the process. Medical director, medical superintendent or head of the institution officiates as chairperson of this authorisation committee.
The LAC is a six-member body assigned by a hospital that scrutinises identification proofs and documents to approve a live organ transplant. The quorum to hold an authorisation committee is four, of whom the presence of the state representative is compulsory.
The kidney racket was exposed after acting on a tip-off, the Powai police halted an illegal transplant at the hospital on July 14. A three-member committee of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) then held the Hiranandani LAC responsible for lapses, as "the committee was unable to explain why they conducted a poor-quality video interview of the donor, recipient and witness in the case".
In the video lasting less than 15 minutes, recipient Brijkishore Jaiswal was asked his address. He replied, "Malabar Hills, Napean Sea Road." When donor Shobha Thakur, accused of posing as Jaiswal's wife, was asked the same question separately, she replied, "Malhar Hills." The committee members then asked her to answer properly and she replied that she belonged to a village.
The report also said that instead of 16, only 11 identification documents were submitted, all of which were forged. Thakur's address was shown to be Dharavi before marriage, which changed to Malabar Hills after marriage.
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