Madras High Court Calls for Licence Revocation of Private Hospital in T.N. Kidney Sale Racket

Quick Summary

• The Madras High Court has asked the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department to produce an order canceling the renal transplantation license of Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan medical College and Hospital in Perambalur after allegations of an illegal kidney sale racket.
• Justice N. Anand Venkatesh demanded clarity on whether a formal cancellation order was issued, as the hospital challenged only a press release from August 10, 2025, announcing such action.
• The Tamil Nadu government confirmed that a cancellation order exists and agreed to present it by Thursday (August 28).
• An inquiry committee recommended canceling licenses for two hospitals-Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Cethar Hospital in Tiruchi-and pursuing criminal charges against brokers involved in illegal transplants.
• Investigations revealed fake documents were used for unauthorized kidney transplants,implicating officials responsible for submitting these fraudulent papers.
• Recommendations made by the committee include: revising organ transplantation authorization committees, creating binding SOPs for live donor procedures, conducting interviews online when recipients cannot appear physically, printing forms in Tamil and English for better accessibility, preserving documents related to medico-legal cases for at least ten years.

Indian Opinion Analysis
This case underscores serious vulnerabilities within India’s organ transplantation framework that require immediate attention from policymakers and medical institutions alike. While illegal organ trade is not unique to India, incidents like these highlight systemic deficiencies such as insufficient oversight mechanisms or lapses at both district and State-level authorizations that can be exploited. Recommendations from the inquiry committee offer tangible steps forward-such as operational reforms through SOPs tailored to live donors-and emphasize transparency measures like bilingual documentation standardization coupled with long-term record preservation.

The broader implications could serve as benchmarks beyond Tamil Nadu as other States face similar challenges regarding ethical medical practices amid increasing health service demand across diverse socio-economic groups. Establishing robust checks without compromising ease-of-access may require striking a delicate balance between administrative stringentness and affordability-a crucial factor affecting millions nationwide who depend on private healthcare systems.

Read more: Madras High Court Kidney Sale Case