‘New rules for transplants in three days’

MUMBAI : Of four demands nephrologists and urologists made last week, including immunity from criminal charges in organ transplant surgeries and exempting them from

MUMBAI : Of four demands nephrologists and urologists made last week, including immunity from criminal charges in organ transplant surgeries and exempting them from verifying documents before transplants, only one was accepted by the government on Monday.

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Dr Deepak Sawant, the state’s health minister said a new set of Standard Operating Procedures for organ transplants will be released in three days.

“The suggestion to not arrest doctors until a final court ruling will not be possible as the role of the DHS (Directorate of Health Services) is only to investigate loopholes and communicate developments to the police and judiciary,” said Sawant.

The health department has also taken a firm stand on the demand to exempt doctors from document verification process, pointing out a petition filed by Dr Bharat Shah, the secretary of the Indian Nephrology Association (west zone) in the Bombay high court against police verification of documents. “The doctors wished to employ a separate agency, with the police, to verify documents. But the decision on this will only be taken once the petition is withdrawn,” said a top official from the department.

HT reported about the demands the Mumbai Nephrology Group and Mumbai Urology Society made in a meeting on Saturday. The only demand that was received well, sources said, was one to hand over the probe of doctors to a special committee consisting of the directors of the DHS, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research and the dean of Sir JJ Hospital.

“While the DHS committee that investigated the cases hasn’t been withdrawn, the panel of these three extinguished officials will now probe doctors and submit findings as well,” said Sawant. The doctors had also asked for an ‘immunity clause’ for members of the Hospital Authorisation Committee, but officials said the doctors didn’t take up the issue for discussion again, and hence, no such move was considered. The health department said that apart from biometric-linked Aadhar card registration, photographic documentation will also be done of both the patient and donor at every stage of the transplant.