Karnataka’ department of health and family welfare has issued a notification to all hospitals approved to conduct human organ transplantation that they would be reprimanded for violating the guidelines of Human Organ Transplantation (HOT) Act 1994.

The order comes in the wake of the Union government efforts to table the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Bill, first introduced towards the end of 2009. The revised Bill would be able to regulate organ transplantation, bring in maximum accountability and transparency besides imposing stringent penalties to violators of the Act.

The state health department is now ensuring that organ trade practices are under check. Such illegal practices were noticed when the State Authorization Committee formed in 1995, rejected cases of unrelated transplants that were put up for approval. Therefore strengthening the law through the circular by the state health department would only go to improve the functioning of the organization set up under the Act, stated experts.

The order was issued in the last week of February to all the hospitals having a department of Nephrology. It is estimated that Karnataka has around 30 centres carrying out organ transplantation, mainly kidney. These include BGS Global Centre for multi organs, liver, pancreas and kidney, MS Ramaiah, Victoria Hospitals, Columbia Asia which has the Karnataka Nephrology and Transplant Institute or KANTI , Manipal Hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Apollo to name a few.

Among the rules to be adhered by these medical centres are identification of related donors, seeking of informed consent for unrelated and related donors besides the recipient prior to transplantation. This is on similar lines of seeking clinical trials consent to seek approval in writing and counsel both the recipient and donor after the transplantation is approved by the Ethics Committee, stated the team from Institute of Nephro Urology  Victoria Hospital Campus.

Further ‘the Act, 1994 also calls for punishment for removal of human organs without consent and offer to supply any human organs for payment. Violations of these rules can attract imprisonment from two to seven years, stated officials from the department of health and family welfare.

Organ transplant procedures carried out in the country include kidney, pancreas, liver, lung, heart-lung and bone marrow. But the highest number of transplants carried out are in the renal space as an estimated one lakh people develop End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) each year. This is in addition to a 20 lakh persons who suffer from the dreaded disease.

Treatment for renal disease is mainly carried out in the corporate and private hospital segment, through there are government centres also engaged in the same to cater to the growing number of ESRD patients from rural areas where treatment is not available. “India is a hub for affordable kidney transplants and has the best skills to carry out the procedures. The country is now recognized as a destination for kidney transplants by the international patients,” stated Dr Mohan Keshavamurthy, urologist and transplant surgeon at Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore.

There are no accurate figures for the number of kidney transplants done in India, as there is no national registry for organ transplants in place which is a norm mandated abroad.  “But now with the amended Transplantation Act, these issues are expected to be taken care,” pointed out specialists at the Institute of Nephro Urology, Victoria Hospital Campus.