Shaikh Zayed Hospital Nephrology Department Head Dr Waqar Ahmed has been found to be minting money under the guise of treating patients.
Patients coming to the hospital for kidney transplantation are redirected to his private clinic, where they meet with a group of potential donors. His team then conducts all the required medical tests themselves and charge hundreds of thousands of rupees, allegedly to seek governmental approval for the transplantation.
Meanwhile, patients are left hanging on for dear life on a dialysis machine, and if they survive, they are silenced through threats.
Despite bringing the matter to the notice of Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Kh Salman Rafique and the Punjab Humane Authority, a resident of Tajpura, Shahzeb Iqbal, was cheated of ten lakh rupees by the doctor.
The silence of Shaikh Zayed Hospital Chairman Dr Fareed Ahmed on the matter is also a cause of concern.
According to Shahzeb, he sold his house for the treatment the kidney that he did not eventually receive. The kidney of the donor assigned to him went to somebody else instead.
The son of a poor vegetable seller, Shahzeb gets put on a dialysis machine every other day and then goes looking for Dr Waqar Ahmed who refuses to even speak with him.
According to the law, only relatives can donate kidneys to patients, and Shahzeb claims that the doctor forced him to sign documents alleging his consent to the procedure.
When contacted, the doctor did not choose to comment on Shahzeb’s allegations.
A few days ago, a joint raid by the police and health officials led to the arrest of doctors and nurses involved in illegal organ transplants in a posh housing society.
If illegal organ transplants are not stopped, patients like Shahzeb will continue to be taken advantage of in hopes of finding a way to stay alive.