DMER probe into kidney transplant row

Pune: The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) will conduct a parallel inquiry into the ongoing kidney transplant row on Monday by questioning officials from the Ruby Hall Clinic and the Regional Authorisation Committee for Organ Transplant at the Sassoon General Hospital.
Dr Ajay Taware, superintendent, Sassoon General Hospital, and a member of the Regional Authorisation Committee for Organ Transplant, confirmed that the DMER will conduct such inquiry on Monday. Ruby Hall Clinic’s legal advisor Manjusha Kulkarni, told TOI, “We have been given an intimation about the inquiry by the DMER on Monday. The intimation has been received via dean of B J Medical College.”
The row refers to an allegation by a woman donor from Kolhapur that she was promised Rs15lakh by an agent for donating her kidney to a patient at the Ruby Hall Clinic.
Members of the committee set up by the health department said they have nothing to do with the DMER inquiry. “We are conducting our own inquiry while the DMER will conduct its own. We are not aware why there are two separate investigations, but it is a routine process in such cases,” a member of the committee told TOI on Sunday.
Ruby Hall’s Kulkarni, said, “There was no laxity on the part of the clinic and there was no reason for us to receive the show cause notice. It was us who informed the police about the possible foul play.”