Cash for Kidneys – latest charges leveled against SL!! What next?

The Times of London headlined their paper yesterday on “Cash for Kidneys Offer lures Britons” where the former Apollo Hospital is charged with selling kidneys to patients, (hitherto quite common, ask a Kidney recipient at Apollo) and has completely sensationalized this practice.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article3919707.ece

Further the Independent paper in the UK also had a similar article in their issue yesterday, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/britons-sold-illegal-kidneys-for-sri-lanka-surgery-8934221.html

Just take a step back. A person who needs a kidney will go to lengths to get a compatible kidney. How much they are willing to pay depends on their personal circumstances. Say a UK resident is told that for 20,000 pounds they can have the kidney, and the transplant operation in the hospital in Colombo, they may jump at it!

They are not going to ask about the circumstances that led to the receipt of the kidney, are they? That is a completely different transaction.

It is known that there are wealthy brokers who engage in this game. So the broker seeks the recipient and names the price. Then they go about seeking a donor, first by checking their database, but with people who are generally short of money and who are willing to sell their kidneys.

The donor is offered 1000 pounds. They are willing to sell their kidney for that. The doctor in the hospital is also part of the deal, and probably asks at least 5,000 for the kidney transplant, over above his surgery fees, and the hospital stay costs which the broker arranges with the hospital. The broker keeps the balance as his fee after paying the surgery and hospitalization.

In this unscrupulous deal, the patient MUST be careful that the Kidney is fully compatible, as there are many that seem compatible, but all tests of compatibility must be positive before attempting to transplant, as otherwise it will be rejected. Anti rejection drugs given to patients are very strong, and last a long time. They can affect the patient’s immunity from other infections and therefore has to be monitored independently. It is very important that the doctor who has a financial stake in the kidney is only allowed if the compatibility is 100% safe as many of the rejections are as a result of doctors cutting corners by transplanting kidneys with some questions on the level of compatibility.