‘Health is wealth’ -  a popular saying of yesteryear could be replaced as ‘Health equals wealth’ in today’s context. In an unexpected turn of events,a case was filed by the Telangana police against six Lankan doctors who were alleged to have conducted kidney transplants on Indian patients charging a sum of 60 lakhs for one transplant. In an attempt to identify the loopholes in the healthcare system that gives rise to such incidents, the Dailymirror spoke to a few individuals and experts on the field. 

‘Ethical issues should be considered’

-Dr. Naveen De Soysa

In his comments to the Dailymirror, GMOA media spokesperson Dr. Naveen De Soysa said that kidney transplants require complex procedures and therefore the ethical issues need to be addressed through an ethics review committee. “When it comes to donors sometimes they could be living or dead. But the other problem is that there could be donors across borders as well. Sometimes Sri Lankans travel abroad to get their surgeries done and this should be regulated by the government. Although there is a protocol it is not duly implemented. It is not a surprise to tell that many foreigners have come here as well to get their kidney transplants done. 

Today this has become a political topic. If policies are regulated then there would have been no issue about the credibility of degrees awarded at SAITM.”

‘I do not know if there is a racket’

-Dr.Kanthi Ariyaratne

QThe kidney racket has gotten out of hand that now the Sri Lankan healthcare system is in bad shape. What comments do you have about this?
I do not know if there is a racket per say, but kidney transplants have taken place since 1980. Starting from government hospitals kidney transplants take place in many hospitals within a legal framework. We have the Transplantation of Human Tissue Act of 1987 which says that for anybody to do a transplant, it should be approved by the Director General of Health Services. There are certain documents that need to be signed by the donor and in the case of foreigners we have stricter guidelines. When we encourage foreigners the country is also getting some foreign exchange and in turn we are promoting health tourism. In fact, because there were many media reports going round saying that there is a kidney racket, the Director General has appointed me to do a thorough investigation about this allegation on several doctors. 

Q But with Indian police filing a case against six Lankan doctors there seems to be a loophole somewhere?
When we get foreign donors, for example India, the Indian nephrologists send us the documents of the donor along with a referral letter. These transplants are monitored by an ethics review committee. We have documents to show that all patients have been monitored closely. 

Q  It has been alleged that a sum of 60 lakhs should be paid for transplanting one kidney. Do you think this is fair by those who are genuinely in need of a kidney transplant?
 So far we have not got any complaints with regard to the amount being charged. But investigations are under way. We ensure that the donor-recipient relationship is clear. 

Q  Indians who are willing to do a donation are identified and are sent down to Sri Lanka on tourist visa. Therefore it is a closely monitored set-up. Will it be exercised in all hospitals in future?
I cannot comment on this question. The only people involved in a transplant surgery are the transplant team. This will be roughly 3-5 people. In addition to that there is an observer who is the transplant co-ordinator. 

‘Several private hospitals are involved in the kidney racket’ 

-Five member committee

In order to probe in to this allegation a five member committee was appointed by the Health Ministry under the supervision of Dr. Rajitha Senaratne which was headed by Dr. Jayasundara Bandara.

According to our sister paper, Lankadeepa, the report was submitted to the minister and in his comments Dr. Bandara has mentioned that only the initial information was taken into consideration. “We did not try to find the people who were behind this racket. Our investigation was based on facts revealed by several media reports and they proved to be helpful. We also discussed with the people who were alleged to be involved in this issue. Certain others are not to be found in those particular hospitals. It should also be noted that we cannot probe in to the matter in detail and there are certain matters which should be handled by the police.”

Other members of the committee included Dr. Lakshmi Somathunga, Senior Assistant Secretary Rohana De Silva, Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe and Dr. Rajapriya Balasuriya.

‘No monetary transactions should be involved’ 

-Saman Ratnapriya

Trade Unions Collective Convener, Saman Ratnapriya said that kidney transplants should be done free of charge. “According to the Human Tissue Transplant Act, the donor should be a relation of the recipient. There should be no money involved during this surgery and it should be overlooked by an ethics review committee. This should be practiced in every hospital. According to the Telangana police the 6 Sri Lankan doctors have been alleged to have conducted these kidney transplants on Indians. Today people would engage in any sort of crime for money. These transplants do not bring in any tax to the government. Currently the Ministry of Health and the CID are conducting investigations on this matter. On the other hand this is not the only crime that exists in this industry.”