An extensive exclusive report by The Telegraph has brought to light a serious accusation against Apollo Hospitals, located in Delhi, India, of running a cash-for-kidney transplant operation as part of a larger illicit organ trafficking scheme. Delhi authorities are currently investigating these allegations.
The report suggests that individuals from Myanmar were lured into selling their kidneys to wealthy patients, a violation of both Indian and international laws aimed at preventing organ trafficking. One of the highlighted issues in the investigation is the alleged faking of documents and photographs to present donors and recipients as relatives, a known method used to circumvent strict laws related to organ donations.
Implicated in the report, Dr. Sandeep Guleria, a renowned surgeon, has categorically denied any involvement with the scheme. Likewise, Indraprastha Medical Corporation Limited, the parent company of Apollo Hospitals, has vehemently denied the allegations. They assert adherence to all the legal and ethical protocols of transplant operations.
A letter from the National Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisation (NOTTO), a division of the Health Ministry, addressed to Delhi Health Secretary SB Deepak Kumar, has called for an investigation into these allegations. The organisation has requested a detailed report documenting the steps taken to look into the matter within one week.
It’s noteworthy that this is not the first time Apollo Hospitals in Delhi has faced such accusations; similar allegations were raised back in 2016 about illegal organ trade practices at the hospital.