Private hospital “Western Hospital” has issued a statement over the recent alleged kidney racket. According to the statement, Western Hospital says that they are NOT involved in any ‘organ trafficking’ or the ‘smuggling of organs’. Western Hospital hopes that the Police investigations would soon reveal the truth into the claims reported by the media.
Western Hospital conducted the very first Kidney Transplant in Sri Lanka and they were the first to conduct dialysis on patients, having imported a machine in 1984.
So far, Hospital has conducted over 1200 Kidney transplants and over 10,000 patients have been dialyzed in the Hospital giving life to all these patients.
“Western Hospital in no circumstances has been involved, nor would we ever be involved in any manner whatsoever in ‘organ trafficking’ or the ‘smuggling of organs’. The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) has now arrested what it terms a ‘main suspect’. We hope the investigations would soon reveal the truth into the claims reported by the media”.
“There is a stringent procedure by which consent is obtained of any Donor No donors organs are taken against his will. These include a comprehensive interview with an independent committee headed by Professor Ravindra Fernando and comprising a Consultant Physician, & an Attorney-at- law, among others.
Following that there is a three-tier process by which the Health Ministry grants approval. Any Donor can at anytime prior to the transplant revoke their consent including whilst on the way to surgery. The Donors have to comply with rigorous legal requirements prior to agreeing to donate their organs. Five other Private Hospitals conduct Kidney Transplants in the Island and each and everyone of them follow the same process and procedures we follow.
The media reports and the sensationalism surrounding the issue has been both malicious and false. These include fantastical stories such as the promise of moneys for the ‘transplantation of testicles’. Similar to the media frenzy surrounding the medically and scientifically impossible story of mass sterilization by Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen, many today believe that our Hospital is also guilty of the claims laid bare in the media.
Whilst, the Hospital iterates in absolute assistance to any legitimate investigation carried out in the usual course, we wish to put the record straight in order to stop the injustice that is being perpetuated on the Hospital by parties with vested interests for reasons best known to them”. – Management Western Hospital. (LankaXpress.com )
