Delhi: Apollo Hospital denies 'Cash for Kidneys' allegations

The Telegraph had published a report stating that the Delhi unit of the Apollo Hospital is embroiled in a “cash for kidneys” scandal which involved luring unprivileged people in Myanmar through huge sums of cash as the Indian and Burmese laws pertaining to this do not allow organ donation from strangers. It claimed that identity documents were forged and family photographs were shot to establish that the donor and the patient are related. 

Apollo Hospital has however denied these allegations. “The allegations made in the recent international media against the Indraprastha Medical Corporation Limited (IMCL) are absolutely false, ill-informed and misleading. All the facts were shared in detail with the concerned journalist. To be clear, IMCL complies with every legal and ethical requirement for the transplant procedures including all guidelines laid down by the government as well as our own extensive internal processes that exceed compliance requirements. IMCL requires every donor to provide Form 21 notarised by the appropriate ministry in their country. This form is a certification from the foreign government that the donor and recipient are indeed related. IMCL re-validates the documents with the concerned embassy of the country. The patients and donors undergo several medical tests, including genetic testing. These and many more steps far exceed any compliance requirements for a transplant procedure and ensure that donor and recipient are indeed related as per applicable laws. IMCL remains committed to the highest standards of ethics and to delivering on our mission to bring the best healthcare to all,” a company spokesperson said.