TN Health Minister Subramanian details measures on kidney racket case as EPS turns up the heat
Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that the district-level Human Organ Transplantation Authorisation Committees have been reconstituted in the aftermath of the racket, and a new state-level monitoring committee has been formed.
File image of MA Subramanian and Edappadi K Palaniswami (PTI & X)
CHENNAI: In response to allegations over the kidney racket in Namakkal, which targeted debt-ridden powerloom workers, the State government said it is implementing damage control measures. This comes as the opposition AIADMK has intensified its efforts, arriving at the Assembly with badges highlighting the racket.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that the district-level Human Organ Transplantation Authorisation Committees have been reconstituted in the aftermath of the racket, and a new state-level monitoring committee has been formed.
Responding to an attention-calling motion moved by AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, Subramanian said that a team was formed to investigate the issue. "As per the report, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be prepared. Moreover, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College in Perambalur and Cethar Hospital in Tiruchy have been banned from conducting kidney transplantation surgeries. Two persons, who acted as middlemen, were arrested," he explained.
The team also recommended that the government establish rules requiring hospitals to maintain records of organ transplantation surgeries for 10 years, in addition to video recording the authorisation commission's interviews with organ recipients, he added.
He further stated that the government has taken action against seven individuals associated with Madurai government hospital for their involvement in the racket.
Earlier, Palaniswami said that the racket was centred in Pallipalayam in Namakkal district, taking advantage of powerloom workers who are in utter poverty. "Middlemen are leveraging poverty to lure the workers into selling their kidneys. The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has formed a special investigation team to probe the case. But the State government has approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay against the order," he said, alleging motives for the DMK government's actions.