Being framed, says transplant coordinator

Mumbai: Nilesh Kamble, the

transplant

coordinator believed to be one of the most important links between the racketeers and Powai’s LH Hiranandani Hospital, has claimed he did not have the medical expertise to decide the donor and recipient. “I am being framed,” he said.

Appearing before the three-member state inquiry panel for the first time since the

kidney

racket was unearthed on July 14, Kamble kept changing his statement and did not provide any clarity on the doctors’ role. “He insisted the coordinator does not go out looking for a donor, nor does he have the expertise to do so. He even said he was clueless about how Rs 8 lakh landed at his Navi Mumbai residence,” a source said.

Kamble insisted his job was only to collect documents and get necessary approvals. According to the protocols, a nephrologist refers a case to the hospital’s transplant coordinator only after a donor has been finalized. However, sources said he is likely to be charged under stringent sections of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act and police have enough evidence against him. “The doctors were arrested after Kamble provided their names, besides being mentioned in the health department inquiry report,” police sources said.

Directorate of Health Services official, Dr B K Kadam, too appeared before the panel. Speaking to TOI, he said, “It was the first time I had gone to Hiranandani Hospital to give approval for a transplant. I went as a replacement for another officer.” His role too has come under the scanner as experts say he should have been extra vigilant being the only state representative.

The other two doctors from Hiranandani Hospital, pathologist Dr Suvin Shetty and surgeon Dr Veena Sewlikar, recorded their statements last week. The committee will submit its report to the government on Thursday.

Deputy commissioner of police (zone X) Vinayak Deshmukh said police have submitted all transplant-related documents from the hospital, to the health department.