Illegal kidney transplant unit busted

4 Surgeon Mario Alvarez Maestro (R) performs a kidney transplant, an operation that typically leads to patients regaining weight and imporved health Surgeon Mario Alvarez Maestro (R) performs a kidney transplant, an operation that typically leads to patients regaining weight and improved health. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD:

An illegal kidney transplant centre operating from the basement of a private residence in the federal capital has been uncovered, with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) detaining three doctors and several members of staff during a late-night raid. A number of patients were found at the premises.

Law enforcement agencies conducted a raid within the jurisdiction of Tarnol Police Station in Sector G-16, where multiple patients were being kept in rooms in the basement of a house that was allegedly being used as an unauthorised hospital facility.

Inspector General of Islamabad Police, Ali Nasir Rizvi, told The Express Tribune that the raid had been carried out by the FIA, which took three doctors and other staff members into custody.

Patients from various cities, including Peshawar, said that they had been brought to the location under the name of a well-known private hospital and had undergone kidney transplant procedures there.

One female patient, who identified herself as being from Peshawar, claimed that two of her kidneys had been removed and that she had been fitted with a healthy donor kidney.

Following the raid, police sources alleged that the patients were left at the property while the raiding team departed with the detained doctors and staff.

One of the patients reportedly contacted the police helpline, prompting local police to arrive at the scene. After assessing the situation, arrangements were made to transfer the patients to other hospitals.

The Islamabad police chief said that the foremost priority was to safeguard the lives of the patients, adding that the police were overseeing their transfer to various medical facilities.

Sources further claimed that patients had been kept in the basement without attendants and were not permitted to keep mobile phones. A woman present at the site said her husband had sent her from Peshawar for a kidney transplant procedure.

Late at night, relatives of the patients were informed following the FIA raid and asked to come to the location. Police sources added that CCTV footage from the house had been taken into custody.