The government would take strong action against hospitals and institutions that are involved in illegal organ trade. This was decided here on Tuesday in a meeting of Monitoring Authority for Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues, chaired Ejaz Raheem, caretaker Federal Minister for Health.
Secretary Health Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, Major General A.K. Usmani (Retd), Administrator Human Organ Transplant Authority, Professor Muhammad Umar, Head of Gastrology, Rawalpindi Medical College, Professor Shad Mohammad, President Ophthalmology Society of Pakistan, Peshawar, Dr Huma Qureshi, former Director Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC) and representatives of World Health Organisation attended the meeting.
The meeting decided that the recognition of such hospitals and institutions will be withdrawn in case they are found involved in illegal practices and further panel action will be taken in the light of the ordinance.
The meeting was apprised of the recommendations of inspection teams with respect to the various hospitals and institutions. The minister strongly emphasised the need for adhering to the prescribed criteria for grant of recognition to transplantation units.
It was decided that full recognition will be granted to those transplant units that have a full time nephrologists. The meeting reiterated the resolve that donation of organs will only be allowed by those blood relatives who, according to the ordinance, means parents, off springs, siblings and spouses. Donation by non-close blood relatives can only be allowed if documentary proof is furnished that no living close blood relative is fit to donate his/her organ owing to disease or non-matching of tissues.
Such cases will be discussed by the evaluation committee of the recognised hospitals and will allow or disallow in the light of the furnished proof. It was also decided to set up three sub-committees to prepare draft protocol rules for liver and stem cell transplantation.
Without any question the situation is alarmingly different in a third world country like Pakistan. It is said that Pakistan is one of the favourite resorts world-wide as far as transplant tourism is concerned. According to WHO estimates, Pakistan hosts up to 1500 transplant tourists every year.