A three-member team probing the JJ Hospital kidney racket has recommended setting up a new State authorisation committee for granting permission for organ transplants in its report, which was submitted to the government on Friday.
Online permissions
The report also recommends rotating transplant co-ordinators every six months and giving out online appointments and permissions.
Dr. Pravin Shingare, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), said, “The report submitted by the three member committee consisting of Dr. Prakash Wakode, joint director of DMER; Dr. Ajay Bhandarwar, head of surgery, JJ Hospital; and Dr. V. Kale, vice dean of JJ Hospital, states that the authorisation committee was ignorant, and their ignorance made way for corruption.”
The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) had arrested two transplant coordinators on October 1 for allegedly demanding ₹1.5 lakh from Jamluddin Khan, a kidney patient, to secure a no objection certificate (NOC) from the authorisation committee. ACB officials said that Tushar Savarkar (34) from JJ Hospital, and Sachin Salve (32) from SL Raheja Fortis Hospital were arrested on graft charges. The officials said that the duo allegedly told Mr. Khan that the authorisation committee might not permit his transplant as the donor, his brother-in-law’s wife, had fumbled during her interview.
The probe panel observed that medical social workers were often appointed as transplant coordinators and Mr. Savarkar had held the post for more than a year. The panel recommended rotating transplant co-ordinators every six months to limit their scope of indulging in wrongdoing. A panel member said that their probe has so far not found any evidence of corruption by doctors or members of the authorisation committee. However, the ACB is still conducting its separate probe into the matter.
The member said that panel has also recommended digitising NOCs and appointments for interviews with the authorisation committee. The member said, “This move will reduce human involvement as the NOCs can be directly sent to the hospital conducting the transplant and the patient will be informed about it.”
Demand for CBI probe
Zakir, Mr. Khan’s brother, has written to Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan and Health Minister Deepak Sawant demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe. He said, “Such a big scam has taken place in JJ Hospital and the State appoints doctors from the same hospital to conduct an inquiry? How is this fair? This is not an ordinary racket. It involves lives of so many people. These people must have looted so many of them.” Mr. Khan, who was granted permission for the transplant a week after the arrest of the coordinators, is yet to undergo the procedure. Zakir said, “We are still collecting funds. His parameters are yet to stabilise to undergo the transplant.”
