Forged documents used for kidney transplant: Probe body

Forged documents were used by the kidney recipient and the donor to facilitate the first ever kidney transplant operation at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Super Specialised Hospital, revealed an investigation.

The investigation committee said both parties have accepted that they have forged documents. The National ID card, succession certificate and marriage certificate provided to the hospital were all fake.

The investigation, however, found no one from the hospital involved with the forgery and recommended further investigation to identify the brokers.

The first ever kidney transplant at the BSMMU Super Specialised Hospital happened on 17 July, the university administration had announced in a press release. The press release said that Sujan Roy, 42, from Pirojpur received the kidney from his younger brother Sushen Roy, 31.

But after conducting an investigation, Prothom Alo revealed that the real identity of the kidney donor to be Sumit Howladar, who is in no way related to Sujan. Sumit’s wife and brother got to know about the kidney transplant after seeing Sumit in a news broadcast on a local television channel about the first ever kidney transplant at BSMMU Super Specialised Hospital.

A report on the incident was published in the print edition of Prothom Alo on 19 July. It was also published in the online English edition of Prothom Alo with the title, “Super Specialised Hospital: First kidney transplant under pretence”.

After the report was published, the BSMMU authorities formed a four-member investigation committee headed by hepatobiliary, pancreatic and liver transplantation surgery department’s professor Mohammad Mohsen Chowdhury.

Sources at BSMMU said, the investigation committee conducted two meetings on 20 and 23 July. They took interviews of the kidney recipient, donor and their relatives, university’s legal officer and the kidney transplant surgery team’s head.

The investigation committee called upon the university’s associate director (law) Tania Akhtar, collected all related documents of the surgery and assessed them. Tania was also a member of the medical board for the kidney replacement surgery.

After the investigation, the committee said the documents procured from the legal department and the magistrate’s office seemingly looked legit but according to the interviews of the donor and the recipient, they were in fact forged.

The committee further said, the fraud ring is known to provide kidney donors to India and other neighbouring countries. Further investigation is required in the matter.

The committee said, the donor and the recipient have accepted that they forged the documents for their own purpose. The NID card, succession certificate, marriage certificate, everything was forged.

BSMMU vice-chancellor professor Md Sharfuddin Ahmed told Prothom Alo, “The law ministry and local government issue National ID cards, succession certificates and marriage certificates. We will send them a letter to be more cautious while giving certificates in the future.”

He said that they will request the home ministry to uncover such fraud rings. And the university authorities will also be more cautious over the matter in the future.

The government invested Tk 15 billion to construct the BSMMU Super Specialised Hospital, aimed at providing advanced healthcare services to people. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina officially inaugurated the hospital on 14 September the previous year.