Pakistan largest organ market in world: expert

Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi, the founder Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) founder and Transplantation Society of Pakistan’s president, Friday disclosed that the notorious trade of human organs, controlled to some extent after the passage of Human Organ and Tissue Transplantation Law, was ones again resurging in Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference at SIUT, Dr Rizvi said they had informed the government repeatedly about the inhuman business while the media also reported several cases recently, but the business was witnessing a boom. “Pakistan is again turning into the largest organ bazaar of the world.” Showing video footages of new stories telecasted by different private television channels, he said abject poverty in Punjab, the richest province of Pakistan, was forcing the poor to sale their kidneys just for a few thousand rupees.
He said the peasants in Punjab were a tool in the hands of feudal lords who manoeuvring the debt cycle in a way that the poor people became just like the bondage labour. “Before the introduction of law, Pakistan was the largest organ bazaar in the world which was visited by over 1,500 foreigners for kidney transplant by paying over 10,000 to 20,000 dollars. Though the number has reduced, but illegal sale of kidneys goes on unhindered,” said Dr Rizvi.
He also disclosed that the reports and email from abroad received at his institute provided solid evidence of illegal transplant for foreigners, adding that these reports were forwarded to the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA), Ministry of Health and the Supreme Court. Rizvi regretted the fact that a foreigner, operated for kidney transplant in Pakistan, died because of the complications but the inquiry committee could not unearth the culprits involved in the illicit trade.
He urged the government to take immediate action against the violators of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplantation Law for protecting the poor citizens. Prof Ejaz Ahmed of Pakistan Society of Nephrology said the illegal transplantation of kidneys was causing problems for both the donor and the receptionist, as they required special care. But the illegal hospitals were not providing them any record as a result of which they were unable to cope with technical difficulties.