Kidney racket puts patients' hopes for new life on hold

Hospitals across the state are reluctant to take on transplants in the fear that they will be held responsible for irregularities in documentation

Even until last week, 52-year-old kidney patient Tansukh Mehta was nursing the hope that he would return to full health just in time for his son's wedding in November. But the JB Nagar businessman's optimism fizzled out when he was suddenly put on the waitlist in the aftermath of the kidney racket at Hiranandani Hospital.

Hiranandani kidney racket: Is state health department covering up for its member?

Tansukh Mehta and his wife

Everything was ready; his wife had offered to donate a kidney and they had all the permissions. But when they went to ask the hospital for the surgery date, they were told that the transplant had been put on hold. Mehta isn't the only patient whose hope for new life has been put on hold. Shaken by the news that Hiranandani's CEO and medical director were held guilty of negligence in the matter, hospitals across the state are now reluctant to take any step until there is some clarity from the Directorate of Health Services.

Hiranandani kidney racket: CEO and medical director 'guilty of negligence'

Now, hospitals are asking transplant surgeons to verify the documents before taking on such procedures. "Our role is to provide medical aid to the patients. We have no expertise in verifying papers," said Mehta's doctor, Bharat Shah, nephrologist at Global hospital and founder of the Narmada Kidney Foundation.

Now that the kidney racket has been unearthed, things are bound to get a lot worse before they get better. There are lakhs of patients in kidney failure across the country, and less than 2% of them get the chance to undergo a transplant. "At Global Hospital, we have 15 cases of kidney transplant and around 10 cases of liver transplant surgeries which will now be put on hold until there is any further clarity," said the doctor.

For now, Mehta has been put on dialysis three times a week even though his need for transplant is urgent. So much so that doctors agreed to use his wife's kidney even though their blood group doesn't match. Mehta's son Sumeet (24) said, "In last three to four months, his health deteriorated. Now we have been asked to wait, which means my father will have to continue dialysis."

Liver transplants
Liver specialist Dr Geeta Billa said, "As per BMC data for the last year, liver disease is the fifth leading cause of death in the city. In India, cadaver donation is still not well developed, and 70 to 80% of transplants are from live donors. Controversies like the kidney racket only make the situation worse by casting organ donation in bad light," she explained.

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