Kidney Racket: Hospital denies involvement in organ trafficking

COLOMBO (News 1st) – A Colombo Court on Tuesday (6) remanded a 41-year-old man for his involvement in a kidney transplant racket.

The man is said to scammed unsuspecting donors and recipients throught this racket, where transplants are said to have taken place at a leading hospital in Colombo.

Western Hospital located on Cotta Road, Borealla in a statement said that  in no circumstances has it been involved, nor would ever be involved in any manner whatsoever in ‘organ trafficking' or the ‘smuggling of organs'.

The statement came after the main suspect was remanded, and the court imposed an overseas travel bank on the Chief Medical Officer and five directors of the hospital, pending an investigation.

The statement noted that Western Hospital were the pioneers in the field of  ephrology, and conducted the very first Kidney Transplant in the country and were also the first to conduct dialysis on patientsas far back as in 1984.

It said that on the 18th of November 2022 a group of people stormed the Hospital premises, demanding exorbitant sums of money which they said was due to them in lieu of their donation of Kidneys.

Western Hospital stated that the group claimed they had only been paid a part of it, and staff members had informed that them such transactions are illegal, and also notified them that they cannot sell organs for any consideration.

The Hospital said that there is a stringent procedure by which consent is obtained of any Donor, and No donors organs are taken against his will.

It adds that media reports and the sensationalism surrounding the issue has been both malicious and false.

Western Hopsital said that it will support any legitimate investigation carried out in the usual course.