PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged breach of protocol in the harvesting of organs from a brain-dead patient at a private hospital in Salem and the transplant of his heart and lung on two foreigners at corporate hospitals in Chennai in May.
In a statement, Mr. Anbumani said Manikandan, a Kerala-based youth, who met with an accident in Villupuram, was admitted to a private hospital in Salem, where he was declared brain-dead and his organs harvested.
‘Rules bypassed’
“The relatives of Manikandan refused to donate his organs even after the hospital requested them thrice. In the fourth attempt, the hospital harvested the organs and sent them to hospitals in Chennai,” the PMK leader claimed.
Mr. Anbumani alleged that Manikandan’s heart and lungs were given to foreign patients illegally, bypassing regulations.
“The organs sourced for a Ukrainian patient was given away to a Lebanon patient. Similarly, lungs which were given as a donation to a Chennai hospital was, instead, given to an Israeli patient rather than five Indian patients in the waiting list,” he said.
He charged that a top official in the Health department had pressured officials in the Tamil Nadu’s organ donation and transplant authority to sanction a specific organ to a private hospital.
“The investigation report reveals that two officials in the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu had resigned when it is clear that some from ruling dispensation had pressured officials. The offenders have been allowed to go scot-free,” said Mr. Anbumani.
The PMK leader alleged that several hundred crores were involved in this organ scam. “Tamil Nadu has become a place for those looking to buy organs. Since, the Tamil Nadu police cannot properly investigate in this regard, a CBI enquiry is needed,” he said.