Monday, Dec 23, 2002
Monday, Dec 23, 2002 |
| Southern States | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Tamil Nadu-Chennai
By Ramya Kannan
In an article `Economic and health consequences of selling a kidney in India', Madhav Goyal, Ravindra L.Mehta, Lawrence J.Schneiderman and Ashwini R.Sehgal, found widespread evidence of sale of kidneys by poor people in Chennai, despite a ban. They also established that selling a kidney did not result in a long-term benefit for the seller. Instead, it is associated with decline in his or her health status. The article also published results of a study by the authors in February 2001 of 305 individuals who had `sold' kidneys in Chennai. Research assistants verified the `nephrectomy' scars and questioned participants on reasons for selling kidney, the money promised/received, involvement of middlemen and their health and economic status after the operation. The study, revealing the lack of enforcement of the 1994 Transplantation of Human Organs Act, found that 70 per cent of them sold their kidneys through middlemen, while the rest directly to clinics. The Act banned the sale of kidneys and required all transplant centres to have authorisation committees examining potential donors to ensure that monetary considerations were not involved. Almost all the donors sold their kidneys to pay off their debt, for food and to meet household, rental, marriage and medical expenses. When asked whether they wanted to help patients who suffered renal failure, 95 per cent of them admitted that it was not a major factor. However, not many of the donors seemed to have benefited from the sale. Their dreams of settling debt were shattered as promises made by middlemen and clinics were never honoured. Of the 292 persons who sold their kidneys to pay off their debts, 216 of them — a whopping 74 per cent — still had debts. The amount promised averaged $1,410 a kidney (at the exchange rate of Rs.45), while what the donors received was somewhere in the range of $1,070. It emerged that in most cases, the middlemen and clinics promised about one third more than they actually paid. The money received was reported to have been spent for clearing debts (60 per cent), on food and clothing (22 per cent) or on marriage (5 per cent).
`Economic status declined'
Despite receiving the money, the donors admitted that their economic status had worsened. The average family income declined from $ 660 at the time of nephrectomy to $ 420 at the time of the survey, which was about six years after the operation. About 50 per cent of the participants complained of persistent pain at the nephrectomy site and 33 per cent complained of long-term back pain. Evaluated on a five-point scale, 48 per cent of the participants reported a 3-4 point decline in their health status. A further 38 per cent reported a 1-2 point decline and only 13 per cent said they suffered no decline in health status. Arguing that despite poor economic status, sellers had a right to make informed decisions on their bodies, the study said potential donors were unlikely to sell their kidneys if they were informed of the likely outcome. Recently, the Chennai police hunted down a `tout' arranging for sale of kidneys in Mylapore, indicating that the situation has remained much the same.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
