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| April 20, 2007 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 02, 1428 |
Human organs law awaits cabinet nod
ISLAMABAD, April 19: The Supreme Court was told here Thursday that a transplantation of human organs and tissues ordinance was awaiting approval of the cabinet for its promulgation to curb unethical trade of human organs especially the kidney.
Deputy Attorney General Raja Irshad informed a three-member bench that the ordinance had already been vetted by the law ministry and was now before the cabinet for final approval. He said the ordinance would be promulgated after it gets through the cabinet.
On February 14, 2007, Prime Minister informed the newsmen after presiding over the cabinet meeting that the cabinet had approved promulgation of the Ordinance and the health ministry had been directed to get the draft bill vetted by the ministry of law as well as special adviser to the prime minister, Sharifuddin Pirzada.
A junior officer from the health ministry appeared before the court to assist the DAG when the bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Justice Tassadduq Jillani and Justice Nasirul Mulk took up a complaint of Muhammad Amjad who had accused that one of his kidneys was forcibly removed by members of a mafia involved in the human organs trade while he was operated upon in a Rawalpindi hospital.
The officer was also not sure as to when the ordinance would be promulgated when the bench inquired about the time frame. This led to the deferment of the proceedings for two weeks when DAG assured the court that he would get in touch with the cabinet secretary to ascertain when the ordinance would be promulgated.
The suo motu action was taken by suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry who while presiding over a bench on December last had asked the government to initiate measures against illegal donors, sellers and purchasers of human organs by introducing a proper law. If quick legislation is not possible, the court had suggested, then the government should consider promulgating presidential ordinance to discourage the alarming trend of unethical organs trade.
A number of unscrupulous private clinics have mushroomed in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad using middlemen to find kidney donors where a majority of the buyers in these clinics are Arabs mainly from Middle East. Poor donors from small villages are entice mainly because of poverty or huge debts.
Last years some newspapers had published chilling photographs of at least a dozen brick kiln workers who had sold their kidneys to pay off debts to kiln owners to earn their freedom or close family members.
According to some reports, a kidney earns Rs60,000 to Rs150,000 to a seller depending on the situation.
During the hearing Advocate Babar Awan representing Dr Major (retd) Khalid Farooq who had operated upon the complainant to remove the kidney told the bench that his client had been acquitted of the charges by the Lahore High Court.
At the last hearing the apex court had directed the prosecutor general Punjab to challenge the order of the local district and sessions court before the high court which had exonerated all the accused, Mohammad Boota, Shahzad, Ishaque and Nawaz and Dr Khalid Farooq after a compromise reached between the parties.
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