THE ACCUSED: Makkar

"Yeah, I can get it done," said Bhagat Singh Makkar, a retired general practitioner, allegedly promising to procure a kidney for an undercover journalist in exchange for a fee. " ... no problem. I can fix that for you. Do you want it done here, do you want it done in Germany, or do you want it done in India?" Makkar allegedly also asked that the fee be paid to him directly and include his own "administrative costs".

In March 2001, Jarnail Singh, a doctor in Coventry, allegedly made revelations to the same paper on how to obtain kidneys from Third World donors.

CONTROVERSY

RISK PRONE Members of the Asian community are three times more likely than the general populace to develop kidney disease and end-stage renal failure, which leads to the need for a kidney transplant. They are also more prone to chronic heart disease, requiring bypass surgeries and transplants. Also, not all those waiting for organs are old; kidney failure, heart and liver disease can attack persons of any age group.

Made illegal in the UK in 1989, the sale of human organs still flourishes surreptitiously as a sting operation by the journalist of a newspaper recently revealed. But with over 5,500 people on the transplant waiting list-of which over 16 per cent are of the Asian community which comprises just 2.7 per cent of UK's population-unscrupulous GPS find it easy to promote trade in human body parts.

Facilitating this illegal trade is the problem of finding in the UK suitable matches for a successful transplant as few Asians are registered as potential donors. Last year, just one per cent of donors were of Asian origin. That meant more numbers willing to exploit Indians back home, whose poverty pushed them to sell their kidneys cheap.

The General Medical Council took cognizance of the gravity of the problem by declaring 62-year-old Makkar guilty of professional misconduct and struck him off the council register. He has 28 days to appeal the decision.

The indication of a flourishing trade in body parts has triggered a debate in which the question is being asked: what are the choices available to waiting patients and their families in the UK?

"Wait for a potential donor-as many patients have been doing for years-or investigate the possibility of a live donation from within the family-something only possible for patients waiting for a kidney transplant," says Gurch Randhawa, a non-executive member of UK Transplant, the governing body that oversees organ donation in the UK. "Unfortunately, the current case is taking live donation to the extreme and cashing in on people's desperation," he adds.

Many feel that the shortage of donors within UK's Asian community leaves them with little choice.

A UK Transplant spokesperson, however, says, "Take control, think about the issues that surround organ donation and ask yourself whether you would be willing to accept a transplant if you need one. If the answer is yes, then surely you should be willing to donate your organs if the time comes."

The Department of Health has been running a campaign with celebrity endorsement for the past three years to raise awareness about organ donation. Says actor Nina Wadia, who lost her mother to renal failure after a long wait for a transplant, "I can't stress how important it is for people to take this issue seriously. I know the pain of loss and the terrible waiting game we played. If I can make a difference, I will register and carry a donor card."

Unless the number of people on the NHS Organ Donor Register increases significantly in the next few years, however, Britain will either see more people die waiting for organs or will be guilty of pushing exploitation and abuse of the system.

Meanwhile, Makkar insists that he has "never traded in organs". Also, the doctor will not face any criminal investigation because he did not follow through on his offer. As for Singh, he is set to face a disciplinary hearing.

-Ishara Bhasi