A GP was last week struck off after the General Medical Council's professional conduct committee found him guilty of offering to “fix” a kidney transplantation in return for a donor's fee and his own “administration costs.”
Dr Bhagat Singh Makkar, 62, of Lewisham, London, offered to find a living kidney donor for a journalist posing as the son of a seriously ill man. Dr Makkar was not aware that the conversation was being recorded.
The GMC also confirmed that another doctor, Dr Jarnail Singh of Coventry, will this October face charges of organ trafficking in an unrelated case, whose details are not yet publicly available.
Freelance journalist Paul Samrai, working for the Sunday Times, contacted Dr Makkar while investigating organ trafficking, after getting his name from a doctor in Jalandhar, northern India.
Bradley Martin, for the GMC, told the hearing that the case involved “firstly, a live kidney donor; secondly, a donor who was unrelated to the patient; thirdly, a fee for the kidney to be paid to the donor; and fourthly,… circumstances where there was no caution or warning about the dangers of transplants between unrelated people.”
The GMC also contended that Dr Makkar's actions were unprofessional, irresponsible, not in the best interests of the patient, and contrary to 1992 GMC guidelines and the Human Organ Transplants Act 1989. Dr Makkar may now face criminal charges for breaching that act.
The GMC listened to recordings and transcripts of the English and Punjabi conversations, in which Dr Makkar said: “No problem, I can fix that for you. Do you want it done here, in Germany, or in India?” Explaining that Britain was cheaper than Germany, he continued: “Asian donors are available here—I find them. I know the consultant at Guy's Hospital.”
Handing Mr Samrai a brochure about his new company, Health International Services, Dr Makkar explained he was retiring from general practice that evening, to “manage operations.” In a later telephone conversation, Mr Samrai speculated that a British Asian donor would be expensive.
Dr Makkar was recorded answering, “It's who you know, where you know. In this field I'm working for last one year… finding the good deals, where is the cheapest.” He continued: “In south India, like in Bombay, Hyderabad, the donor will be less expensive than Punjab… in Bombay there are loads of poor people.”
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ENTERPRISE NEWS AND PICTURES/MARK ST GEORGE
Dr Bhagat Singh Makkar