New Delhi, Dec 6 (The Street Press India) – Health Ministry is looking into Apollo Hospital Delhi, a part of the major private hospital chain Apollo Hospitals. This investigation comes in response to media reports connecting the hospital to the unlawful sale of kidneys by Myanmar nationals for organ transplants.
The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), under the health ministry, has requested Delhi Health Secretary S B Deepak Kumar to investigate the matter. The directive instructs him to take suitable actions and provide a report on the actions taken within a week, as per a letter obtained by Reuters.
A committee is being established to investigate the issue, and the hospital has been asked to provide details about donors and patients, according to Kumar’s statement to local media. Reuters was unable to reach Kumar for further comment.
Apollo Hospitals has not responded to Reuters’ request for comment at this time.
Indraprastha Medical Corp, affiliated with Apollo and overseeing its two hospitals in Delhi, has initiated an inquiry. The company labeled the allegations against it as “absolutely false, ill-informed, and misleading.”
A report in Britain’s Telegraph alleges Apollo’s involvement in a “cash for kidneys” scandal, claiming young villagers from Myanmar were flown to its Delhi hospital and lured into selling kidneys to affluent Burmese patients.
Despite a Reuters request for comment, the Myanmar government has not responded.
Apollo, based in Chennai and operating over 70 hospitals in India, conducted 1,641 solid organ transplants in 2022, according to company data. The hospital also provides medical care to international patients traveling to India.
