Trichy hospital under lens in illegal kidney racket case
Private hospitals in Perambalur and Erode have also been named. The health department has directed an Erode-based kidney hospital to limit its operations to dialysis only, prohibiting any surgical procedures until further notice.
The case was filed after video clips of donors surfaced on social media along with reports that workers employed in powerloom units and dyeing mills in Pallipalayam and nearby areas in Namakkal were being lured by brokers to sell their kidneys for 5–10 lakh.
Dr Meenakshi, additional director of legal medicine, is leading a team of health department officials in the investigations. She has been examining Abhirami Kidney Care Hospital in Erode over the past two days.
Officials, however, said only one private hospital in Trichy, where surgeries for removing kidney were allegedly performed on the donors before it was transferred to a third party, is being probed as of Saturday.
"During an inquiry on Friday, we have sought an explanation from the hospital authorities," state director of medical health services J Rajamoorthy told TOI.
As of Saturday, Namakkal health officials have identified one donor who had donated a kidney through a broker last August. Officials said they had received information that six people had donated kidneys from the Pallipalayam area. "But the documents of five of them appeared to be fake as we could not trace them.
We were able to identify only one on Friday night and obtain a formal statement. The person had stated that the surgery was done at a private hospital in Perambalur," said Rajmohan, the joint director of health services, Namakkal.
Namakkal police are on the lookout for a broker named M Anandan.
One of the kidney donors, Kowsalya Pandian, 36, told TOI that she donated her one kidney to a female patient from Thanjavur district a few months ago.
She said that broker Anandhan received Rs10 lakh from the recipient and gave her Rs6.5 lakh. "I received Rs1.5 lakh as initial payment and Rs5 lakh after the surgery," she said.
Meanwhile, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam expressed concern at power loom workers being compelled to sell their kidneys due to insufficient income and unemployment. He recalled that earlier too, the workers fell victim to moneylenders and resorted to selling their kidneys. He sought immediate action against those responsible for the exploitation and stringent steps against hospitals resorting to such practices.
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