Illegal acts

Despite the passage in 2010 of the Human Organ and Transplant Bill through parliament and its signing into law, the reality is that illegal organ transplants, notably those of kidneys, continue across the country. The law, for which doctors at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation had campaigned tirelessly, limits organ donations to blood relatives in a bid to prevent the sale of kidneys. It also makes it possible for any person to donate organs that can be used to save others upon the donor’s death. In the years prior to the passage of this bill, Pakistan had acquired an unfortunate reputation as a global marketplace for kidneys, with middlemen purchasing the organ from desperately poor people and selling them to wealthy individuals, some who had travelled in from other countries. Medical practitioners aided this unethical and illegal trade.
The law, and the penalties placed under it on illegal sales, has brought some check on the practice, with arrests made in past years. But reports suggest the trade continues, more covertly than before and possibly involving larger sums of money, in many places. This matter was taken up a few days back by a three-member Supreme Court bench hearing petitions on constitutional and human rights issues. The court asked the four provinces and the centre to submit reports on what was being done to stop illegal kidney sales. It expressed dissatisfaction with Punjab’s response that a law had been put in place at the provincial level and asked what was being done to make sure it was adhered to. The point made is an important one. The lack of enforcement of laws is a long-standing problem. It is also a fact that the lucrative kidney trade is driven forward by the lack of availability of organs. This means demand is high, with the wealthy willing to pay any amount for an organ. The provision in the Transplant Bill for voluntary donations then needs to be carried forward by educating people about the value of saving a life after one’s own death so that more step out to do this and the shortage of organs can be reduced.