Probe launched into organ trade in Kerala

The Kerala Police have launched a probe into organ trade rackets thriving in the state after a preliminary investigation came across middlemen wooing people from weaker backgrounds to donate organs for cash.

Based on a recommendation of the police crime branch, state police chief Loknath Behera ordered a detailed investigation. A case would be registered for violation of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act.

Following a tip-off, the Crime Branch initiated a preliminary probe into the organ trafficking. The rackets involving middlemen and hospitals were also suspected to have inter-state operations.

Crime Branch Inspector General of Police S Sreejith said in a report submitted to the state police chief that a detailed investigation was required to crack the racket.

Donors from weaker sections were suspected to be induced by middlemen for donating organs, mainly liver and kidney, to patients from well-to-do backgrounds by offering a price of up to Rs 10 lakh.

However, the actual cash transaction involved in the trade could be manifold and a major chunk could be going to middlemen and hospitals involved in the racket. Some specific cases were examined during the preliminary inquiry and no relationship was found between the donor and recipient, said sources.

Involvement of some government officials was suspected in the illegal organ trade flouting the norms of Kerala government defined by Kerala Network for Organ Sharing. The racket seemed to be thriving with the connivance of private hospitals.

A senior police officer told DH that the racket could possibly involve inter-state operations. The long wait to get organs through a proper channel fuels the illegal trade, he added.

In order to curb illegal organ transplant, Kerala government initiated Kerala's Deceased Donor Organ Transplantation Program in 2012. So far, 797 solid organs and 488 tissues have been transplanted through the programme.

Kidney tops the list of the organs transplanted so far, with 490 transplants. As of now, 1,852 persons are in the waiting list for a kidney transplant.