Daily Times

LAHORE: Despite the grave threat of illegal human organ transplantation in the province, the Punjab government has failed to empower the Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority (PHOTA), a vibrant monitoring body, to curb the prevailing menace.

Due to the lethargic attitude of the provincial government, neither the budget nor any manpower was provided to the authority ever since its inception, which raised serious question marks on the health priorities of Punjab government.

The government was regulating removal, storage and transplantation of human organs and tissues for therapeutic purposes under the Punjab Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Act 2012. Under this act, a monitoring authority (PHOTA) was notified to supervise and scrutinise transplantation of human organ and tissues besides organising events to recognise and acknowledge the act the supreme altruism of living donors and family of deceased donors.

According to rules, PHOTA was aimed at creating a Punjab organ-sharing network and organ procurement organisation consisting of a doctor, psychologist or sociologist and a nurse. The authority was to obtain information and maintain record of brain death patients whose families consented for donation, besides communicating with organ procurement organisation.

The authority was meant to request the government to institute an endowment fund, which should have been used by the authority for the transplantation in indigent patients, including post transplant care and medicines, besides granting a certificate of registration to hospital.

Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) Director Prof Adbul Hasan Rizvi highlighted the issue of illegal human organ transplantation in Punjab while the Supreme Court of Pakistan also took suo motu action over the issue.

Following the disclosure, a meeting of Cabinet Sub-committee on Law and Order was held and chaired by Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and attended by Rana Maqbool and Khawaja Salman Rafique along with PHOTA head Prof Faisal Masood.

During the meeting, Prof Faisal Masood revealed that illegal transplantations were taking place in some small districts. He also shared that 15 hospitals in Punjab have been registered with PHOTA and permission for 511 transplantations cases have been accorded by the authority.

He elaborated nightmarish situation about the operational status of authority and lamented the shortage of funds and manpower since the constitution of PHOTA.

Sources in SHE&ME Department said that the government completely failed in making PHOTA a vibrant authority, which was why illegal organ transplantation has been thriving in Punjab.