Illegal Kidney Transplant
Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi disclosed on Sunday that the organ racket in the country had charged at least Rs10 million for illegal kidney transplantation from overseas Pakistanis.
Naqvi stated at a press conference in Lahore, focusing on the organ racket, that the police had been actively investigating the issue for the past one and a half months. The government had obtained records of 328 individuals whose kidneys had been transplanted.
In August, the Organized Crime Unit of Lahore police had raided a “rented farmhouse” in the Defence Housing Authority, dismantling an alleged large-scale kidney transplant racket.
Despite ongoing operations in Punjab, media reports indicated that the racket persisted on a smaller scale as individuals sought to exploit the organs of the impoverished.
The provincial government announced the arrest of the prime suspect, Dr. Fawad, who had conducted 328 kidney operations, resulting in at least three fatalities.
CM Naqvi revealed that Fawad’s accomplice, who assisted in the operations, was a motor mechanic responsible for administering sedatives to patients. This group conducted operations on both local residents and expatriates in private residences.
The chief minister pledged to ensure that all suspects faced justice, emphasizing the existence of laws governing transplants.
He also noted complaints related to the Punjab Human Organ Transplantation Authority (PHOTA) and expressed hope for the initiation of a one-window operation at PHOTA.
Naqvi believed that the Punjab Healthcare Commission should enhance its effectiveness. Regarding an investigation into a case involving patients losing their vision due to an injection, he reported the arrest of two prime suspects.
