Illegal kidney transplants: TN to permanently revoke hospital permits, tighten approval process
The State government will also introduce Standard Operating Procedures for district-level accreditation committees and set up a State-level committee to oversee organ transplant approvals across TN
CHENNAI: The Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services will permanently cancel the kidney transplant licences of Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Perambalur, and Cethar Hospital, Tiruchy, after an inquiry confirmed serious violations of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.
The State government will also introduce Standard Operating Procedures for district-level accreditation committees and set up a State-level committee to oversee organ transplant approvals across TN.
The action follows an investigation led by S Vineeth, project director, Tamil Nadu Urban Health Care Project, into a kidney transplant racket linked to Pallipalayam in Namakkal. The probe, which began on July 22, examined donor applications from Thiruchengode taluk and found that unrelated living donors were procured through brokers for monetary gain. Private hospitals were found to have submitted forged and improperly prepared documents to government accreditation committees to secure approvals for transplants.
The report named two brokers – Anandan and Stanley Mohan – as key intermediaries in the illegal operations. It recommended that FIRs be registered against them under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. It also highlighted the role of certain hospital staff, including transplant coordinators, in preparing fraudulent documents and called for disciplinary action against officials who approved surgeries without proper scrutiny.
The investigation recommended restructuring the existing four district-level human organ transplant approval committees located in Chennai (Kilpauk), Madurai, Coimbatore and Dharmapuri, and creating a State-level committee to monitor their functioning. It further proposed mandatory video recording of donor–recipient interviews, retention of medico-legal records for ten years, provision of all forms in Tamil and English, and prominent display of warnings in hospitals against monetary organ donations along with complaint contact details.
The recommendations also stressed heightened scrutiny of applications from districts showing unusual transplant activity, twice-yearly audits of approval committee decisions, and regular public awareness drives on the illegality of organ sales.
The State government has accepted these measures and directed the DME to streamline accreditation procedures and ensure pre-approval medical and legal counselling for donors and recipients. The State Appropriate Authority will conduct periodic inspections of all licensed transplant facilities, while district administrations will be tasked with running continuous awareness campaigns.
Officials said the steps are aimed at tightening oversight, preventing exploitation in organ transplantation, and ensuring strict adherence to the law.
