Lanka appoints panel to probe kidney transplant racket

Colombo: Sri Lanka has formed a three-member panel to probe an organised organ harvesting racket involving patients and donors from India, two days after it banned kidney transplants for foreign nationals.

The panel consisting of two lady doctors appointed by Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne has launched the probe. Its members will visit hospitals linked to the racket, officials said on Saturday.

Senaratne on Thursday said he had ordered a temporary ban on kidney transplant operations involving foreigners after Indian police warned Lanka that some patients from India had paid donors for organs and had the transplants carried out at private hospitals in Colombo.

The Indian police had named at least six Lankan doctors involved in the alleged illegal transplants. Lankan doctors' trade union, the Government Medical Officer's Association, said they would take stern action against any of their members if they were found involved in illegal transplants.

The Health Ministry said that the current temporary ban involving foreign nationals for kidney surgeries may be extended depending on the panel's report.

Media here reported that four local hospitals had been arranging transplants for kidney patients from India with organs from their home country.

The panel will also probe how many procedures had been carried out on foreign nationals and the relationship between the donor and the patient.