India was once a country where the poor received a pittance for selling their organs, while a section of doctors, hospitals and brokers cashed in on what was then a lucrative trade.
To honour donors whose organs helped save many lives and their families who consented to the donation, Fortis Malar Hospital in the city has set up a ‘Wall of Tribute’ on its premises. Relatives of people whose organs had been donated participated in the dedication of the wall.
Increasing levels of awareness have ensured that the number of people coming forward to donate their organs after death has gone up three times in the last three years, from 190 in 2012 to 570 in 2015.
Police in Mumbai said they suspect a criminal gang which preys on poor people for their organs is behind a kidney transplant racket at a top hospital, the latest such case in India where a shortage of organs is fuelling a black-market trade.
Police in Mumbai said they suspect a criminal gang which preys on poor people for their organs is behind a kidney transplant racket at a top hospital, the latest such case in India where a shortage of organs is fuelling a black-market trade.
It was during a visit to a Chennai colony over 20 years ago that one became painfully aware of the disturbing practice of organ trade. The vulnerable residents there, largely living with leprosy, were targeted by middle-men to sell their kidney to individuals who desperately needed one.
Don’t take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here. This popular quote by an unknown author sufficiently sums up the current scenario in the country. A huge gap exists between patients who need organ transplants and potential donors. It's not that there cannot be enough organs to transplant.
From being a hotbed for kidney racketeers to leading the organ donation drive in the country, Tamil Nadu over the past eight years has transformed into an ambassador of the cadaver transplant programme. This month, the state recorded another high: 21 families donated organs of their braindead relatives - the highest in a month since 2008.
Earlier this month, a woman marched into a police station in India’s capital to file a domestic-abuse complaint and then made another allegation: that her husband was involved in illegal organ-trafficking.
India is rightly proud of its status as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. But there is another, less admirable label that refuses to go away. Despite the country’s best efforts to eradicate the black market trade in human organs, India retains a reputation as an easy place to buy a kidney.
