The state government has recently recommended that validation and permission should be done by the Internal Authorisation Committee at the hospital level itself.
Procedural delays due to hospital and regulatory formalities in kidney swap cases may soon be a thing of the past.
On March 24, a 23-minute documentary film, Swap, made by Yashwant Chaughule, was screened in the presence of nephrologists, top government health officials and the Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Committee (ZTCC). The film was inspired by a real-life incident from Pune, when Ramdas Pawar and Sanjay Shinde, both men suffering from renal failure, received kidneys from each others’ wives.
“As of now, patients and their relatives who want to go for kidney swap, have to come to the Directorate of Medical Educational and Research (DMER). But the state government has recently recommended that validation and permission should be done by the Internal Authorisation Committee at the hospital level itself, treating kidney swap as living related transplant,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, joint director, DMER.
“Kidney swap does not find any mention in the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994, which deals with only related kidney donors. However, some rules and regulations pertaining to this act were revised a year ago. The Act itself will be amended in a year’s time,” said Shingare.
Recalling the first kidney swap case in 2007, Dr Shingare said that the DMER, which meets twice a month, found itself in fix as the law did not address such cases. DMER has sanctioned eight kidney swaps since.
However, extensive paperwork seems to be a necessary evil. “Kidney rackets and exchange of money for kidney is not unheard of. That is why it is necessary to establish the relationship between the donor and recipient,” said Dr Sujata Patwardhan, head of Urology department, KEM Hospital and the new secretary of the Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Committee.
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