The Karnataka government has sanctioned as many as 964 kidney transplants in the last eight years ever since the Authorisation Committee which has been constituted to monitor organ transplant activities was formed in 1995. The chairperson of the Authorisation Committee is the principal secretary of Law department. The state government received 1,016 requests for kidney transplants. Of these 964 were approved while 22 cases were rejected. The remaining 30 files seeking permission are pending. In 2002, alone the Authorisation Committee has cleared nine out of 10 proposals received for kidney transplants.

Scrapping section 93 of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994, restructuring the Authorisation Committee, setting up of dialysis facilities in all districts, establishing an ethical committee in each hospital and taking measures to promote related donor base were some of issues discussed at the media workshop on Human Organ Donation -Medical, Legal, Social and Ethical dimension organised here in Bangalore.

Dr. H Sudarshan, chairman, Task Force on health and family welfare, government of Karnataka who discussed on 'Kidney trade -the Karnataka experience and its lessons' observed that majority of the medical institutions engaged in organ transplantation in the State had thrown ethics into the wind and were purely working for monetary benefits.

"St. John's Hospital and Bangalore Kidney Foundation (BKF) are known for related kidney transplants," said Dr. Sudarshan. He took at the archaic procedures that are being followed during organ transplant by stating that most of the procedures were against social justice. Citing the Hollalu village case, where 47 persons had donated kidneys for monetary gains, Dr. Sudarshan said that it is the poorer sections, which are exploited for the health of the rich.

Though the Authorisation Committee is required to ensure that organ donation is not done in ac commercial manner. "There are several examples to show how the committee had interpreted the rules to favour the rich, he pointed out.

According to N Ram, editor, Frontline termed section 93 of the Transplantation of Human Organ Act 1994 as a 'fatal flaw'. As section 93 provides enough scope for defending the unrelated organ transplant, it should be struck down by the judiciary he said.

On the legal dimensions to the issue, Dr. Mohan Gopal, director, National Law School of India University summed up the working of the 1994 act as 'surplus of law and deficit of justice'.

He said that the law had failed to make a positive impact even eight years after it was passed. Stating that the justice cannot be achieved through state instrumentalities/ intervention Dr. Mohan Gopal favoured a broader role of the civil society and communities in conceptualising laws. He also suggested filing a public interest litigation against the organ transplantation violations and initiating criminal action against the negligent officials.