RAWALPINDI: Police have booked two unidentified doctors and four others on charges of forcibly removing the kidney of a labourer in Rawalpindi’s Chaklala area, two years after the harrowing incident.
Zeen Ali, a labourer by profession, lodged a complaint with the police stating that his kidney was removed without his consent after he was lured with the promise of a job.
According to the FIR registered at Chaklala Police Station, Zeen Ali was taken to a location under the pretext of employment, where his kidney was extracted without his knowledge.
Police said an investigation has been launched on the victim’s complaint.
FIA busts gang involved in illegal kidney transplants
The FIR has named Jamshed alias Bubbly, Irfan, Amin, an unidentified male doctor, a female doctor and other medical staff.
Zeen Ali told investigators the suspects gave him an intoxicating drink and he remained unconscious for five days.
When he regained consciousness he found himself at Amin’s house, where he was told his abdominal injury had occurred while working and that treatment was under way.
How doctor was arrested, sentenced for Illegal kidney transplants?
A few days later his parents were informed and they took him to Lahore for medical examination where it transpired that his left kidney had been removed.
After lengthy treatment and recovery, Zeen Ali decided to pursue legal action against the suspects.
A court-ordered medical examination at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital also confirmed that a kidney had been removed.
Organ trade law exists but enforcement weak
Trading in human organs is a serious offence under Pakistan’s 2010 law, punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and heavy fines. Experts, however, say enforcement is weak. They said that poverty and lack of awareness make vulnerable groups easy targets for criminal networks.
Last year Punjab police exposed a major organ racket that allegedly removed 328 kidneys illegally and transplanted them into wealthy and foreign patients.
Victims were reportedly paid a few hundred thousand rupees, while the same organs were sold for millions. In one case a 14-year-old boy was forcibly operated upon; police later recovered his kidney.
Shortage and deaths
Reports say 10 to 15 people die every day in Pakistan because they cannot obtain timely transplants.
Experts estimate Pakistan needs around 50,000 organ transplants a year, including roughly 15,000 kidney transplants, but a near-total lack of a donor system and the growth of illegal trade have turned the shortage into a lucrative opportunity for criminals.
Investigations also indicate that some suspects are repeatedly arrested and released on bail, undermining victims’ faith in the justice system. Many victims do not file complaints out of poverty, threats or fear of stigma — a gap that allows perpetrators to grow bolder.