‘Ready to table White Paper on organ transplant’

Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar on Wednesday said organ transplants were being done with absolute transparency in Tamil Nadu. “I am prepared to table a White Paper on the organ transplants. Everything was done as per procedure,” he said.

On Thursday, the debate on the demand for grants for the Health Department would be taken up in the Assembly.

Waiting list

Earlier on Tuesday, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said that as of now, 150 Indian and 53 international patients were on the waitlist for heart transplant, 74 Indian and 40 international patients for lungs and 24 Indians and eight international patients for heart and lungs. “Organ allocation is done as per procedure. If a hospital has five Indians on the waitlist, there is no provision in the law to allocate the organ to a foreign patient,” he said.

Vaiko calls for probe

MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Wednesday demanded a detailed inquiry into the allegation that foreign nationals were being accorded preference in transplant operations, bypassing Indians.

In a statement, he pointed to reports of attempts being made to move public healthcare from the State list to the Union list, due to the alleged scam in cadaver transplants.

He alleged that the Edappadi K. Palaniswami-led AIADMK government had given up the State’s rights to the Centre.

Noting that Chennai was a major hub for healthcare, Vaiko said illegalities in cadaver transplants should be stopped.