Kerala mulls strict rules to check shady organ trafficking
- Rules would be made mandatory for all hospitals carrying out organ transplant surgeries
- It will be mandatory for hospitals to record procedures of brain death in video
- High-level panel constituted by state government had asked hospitals to submit surgery rates
FollowIncreasing complaints on organ trafficking, especially kidney trade, has forced Kerala government to implement stringent rules for organ donation. Health Department has decided to enforce strict norms to ensure transparency and accountability in procedures of organ transplantation in the state.
Current rules insist that four doctors must certify brain death. The government has decided to include two doctors from outside the hospital in the panel, and of them, one should be from the government hospital. All doctors must be present while carrying out the procedure.
The rules would be made mandatory for all organisations carrying out organ transplant surgeries. "The government will also make it mandatory to document the procedures of the declaration of brain death in video. The rules will come into force soon," Additional Chief Secretary Rajeev Sadanandan said.
The state government had earlier constituted a high-level expert panel to evaluate the rates of organ transplant and other complicated surgeries carried out in hospitals across the state. The panel was supposed to study the existing rates and the amount charged for various procedures by the government and private hospitals. The high-level group had asked hospitals to submit details of surgeries and rates charged.
The panel is working towards standardising the cost of surgical procedures following complaints that private hospitals are charging exorbitant rates for organ transplant surgeries. The group will also check the rates for kidney transplantation from live and brain dead donors as well as facilities for the organ transplant in private hospitals.
Procedures like Vitro fertilisation, angioplasty and stenting will also come under scrutiny. All public and private sector hospitals are asked to provide the base rate they are charging for the organ transplant and heart surgery. The move aims to ensure transparency and accountability in heart surgeries and organ transplant procedures.
Though the government has the details of persons accepting organs from brain dead persons, details of persons receiving organs from live donors is not available. The government also plans to prepare a record of live organ donors and recipients.
