Salem: Health dept cracks down on pvt hospital

SALEM: The Manipal Hospital in Salem is in the throes of a controversy for illegal organ transplant surgeries, in which a brain dead patient’s organs, were allegedly purchased by paying Rs 2 lakh to the victim’s family. The district health department officials began an enquiry with hospital in pursuing a complaint.

According to sources, a 39-year-old daily wage worker, Srirangan from Naripallam village near Omalur, was crossing the Salem to Bengaluru highway on his motorbike last Sunday when a speeding omnibus from Karnataka knocked him down and in which he sustained severe head injuries. He was taken by a private ambulance service to Salem Manipal hospital for treatment. After the treatment for over the last two days, doctors declared him ‘brain dead’. 

Sources said that doctors tried to lure his family members by offering to cancel treatment charges of Rs 50,000, if they agreed to donate his organs. They were offered extra money too.

The illiterate parents asked a local political leader for help and in his presence, hospital authorities allegedly completed the deal for all of Srirangan’s organs. After getting signatures from the family members, organs were harvested from Srirangan. 

With the social activists alleging organ trade scam, the district collector has promised probe. However, Manipal Hospital in a statement claimed it followed legal procedures. 

A team led by the joint director of Health Services, Salem, M Valarmathi inspected the hospital on Tuesday.

. After two hours of enquiry, M Valarmathi said, “we checked the documents regarding the treatment given to Srirangan and also on the permission given for organ transplantation. We found that the hospital has obtained the permission for organ transplantation surgery.”

Another team of officials led by the director of Medical Services, Chennai, will visit the hospital for further inquiry. The report will be then sent to the district collector, Ms Rohini Bhajibhakare, soon.

However, the private hospital authorities denied all the allegations. They said in a statement that all procedures and rules of the ‘Human Organs Transplantation Act (HOTA)’ and of the ‘Transplantation Authority Government of Tamil Nadu’ were followed. The statement added that they are open to any scrutiny by the appropriate authorities.