Kidney racket: 10% of transplant applications in state are rejected

Of the 440 applications for kidney transplants that were received in Maharashtra in the past three years, 35 were rejected because of suspicion the donor was selling the kidney.

The State Authorisation Committee (SAC), which is required to investigate and authorise applications for a transplant, rejects an average of 10% of the 150 cases it gets annually. The SAC approves transplants in which a donor and the recipient are either distant relatives or acquaintances.Other cases, in which the donor is the patient’s blood relative or spouse, are approved by a committee at the hospital level.

Dr Pravin Shingare, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research, who is one of the five members in the SAC, said factual inconsistencies in the answers given by the donor and the recipient are usually the reason why applications are rejected.