Centre asks states to monitor, inspect organ transplants involving foreigners

Organs of the deceased donor are anonymously allocated to people waiting for a transplant, while an organ can be donated by a living person only if they (donor and recipient) are close relatives or share a close bond and want to donate altruistically. Commercial trading of organs is not allowed under Indian laws.

Sources said that letter comes after two successive organ transplant cases involving foreign nationals came to the fore in which regulations were violated. In Rajasthan, fake NoCs were allegedly issued to Bangladeshi nationals, and in Delhi, poor Myanmar nationals were allegedly paid to donate kidneys.

The DGHS has asked the state governments to devise a system for regular inspection of all transplant and retrieval centres. “…so as to have an onsite monitoring of their activities, quality of transplantation, post-operative follow up of donors and recipients, and outcomes of transplantation,” DGHS Prof Atul Goel wrote to the states.

The letter states that the NOTTO registry data shows that there has been an increase in the number of transplants in foreign nationals. “While it is encouraging to see an increasing number of foreign nationals choosing India as their destination for getting a transplant — India offers worldclass transplantation at a fraction of the cost as compared to several Western countries. However, we have to ensure that when they do come to India to get a transplant, they follow the laws of the land. There cannot be any commercial trading of organs if they are getting the transplant in India because the Indian law does not permit that,” said an official in know of the matter.

Earlier, after the case involving Myanmar nationals came to light, the Union health secretary had urged the foreign secretary to sensitise the embassies as they are required to issue a certificate to their respective citizens, stating that the donor and recipient are related to each other for undergoing transplant in India.