'The doctors are aware of it'

K.J. George, a former liquor salesman and a resident of what is now known as Kerala's kidney village, Methotti in Idukki district, spoke to R. Krishnakumar about the circumstances in which he got involved in the kidney-for-money racket and his conclusions about how it operates. This is George's story, recreated from his answers to the questions:

I SAW a newspaper advertisement (seeking a kidney donor), with a telephone number. The person who responded to my call told me his name was Reji Narayanan and directed me to meet him at the Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikode. I donated my kidney there on August 17, 2001.

I gave my kidney to a 27-year-old man, Saidalavi. I decided to do it because I was in deep financial trouble. I had contemplated suicide several times, and had I not donated my kidney (for money), I doubt whether I would be alive today. At that time, however, I did not know what the price of a kidney was. They gave me Rs.75,000 after the operation and I came home with that. The money was paid by Saidalavi's relatives, in the presence of Reji, who acted as a middleman.

Reji and `the party' coached my wife and me well, before we were interviewed by the Authorisation Committee. Because, from what I understand, the committee would not have allowed me to donate had I disclosed that I was doing it for money. So what I said before the committee was a lie. Lie in the sense... it all depends on a person's personality. If a donor can pass off as a family member, he is asked (by Reji) to tell the committee that he is the patient's relative; otherwise the donor becomes a `labourer', a `superintendent', or a `property supervisor'.

In my case, because I was donating my kidney to a Muslim from Malappuram district, I was told to say I had lived in Malappuram, that I knew Saidalavi well, and that I had expressed my willingness to donate my kidney based on that acquaintance. I did not tell the committee that I was doing it for money.

The committee's effort was to try and convince me that it was not right for me to donate my kidney. The members tried to dissuade me from undergoing the operation. I suspect they knew very well that we were all `selling' our kidneys. How can the committee say that it did not know, when over seven persons appear before it from the same locality claiming that they were all altruistic donors? They would have guessed, certainly. When seven donors come from the same locality, it becomes a business. So Reji and the Authorisation Committee have some link.

The committee asked me where my home is, my wife whether she was really my wife, what my relationship with the patient was, and so on. The committee members did not tell me anything about the legal aspects of donation. And I lied that I was donating my kidney on the basis of friendship. That was the trick we played on the committee.

Reji never told me that he was a broker. He said his brother and the patient's brother worked together in Saudi Arabia and that he was there as a help. It was only later that I came to know that he was a broker.

During their inquiry, the police showed me a photograph and I identified it as that of Reji. He is about 38 years old, appeared to be financially sound, and from what I know, he lives within 10 km from Kozhikode. He had told me his mother was from Kottayam and his wife belonged to Vazhoor in Kottayam district.

Reji has very good links with the three transplant hospitals in Kozhikode (including the National Hospital, the Baby Memorial Hospital and the PVS Hospital). The instant a patient requiring a kidney transplant is admitted to any of these hospitals Reji would come to know of it. He would know if the patient's operation is postponed (for want of a kidney), details such as the patient's blood group and so on immediately. How would it have been possible if the hospitals did not have links with him? But then you can't say that Reji cheated me. I got the money I was promised. Reji told me I would not get more and that there were other expenses involved and that it was not right on my part to ask for more. But now people tell me the kidney would have fetched me a bigger amount. So I am portraying it as `cheating'. In fact, as far as I could see, though the doctors were not involoved in the deal as such, when I asked one of the doctors, Dr. Sunil George, (how much would selling a kidney fetch a donor) he did mention a figure of Rs.2 lakhs to Rs.3 lakhs. But the doctors were not involved in the transaction.

However, the doctors are aware of it (these transactions). From the way he speaks to the doctors and interacts with them, I could say Reji has something to do with the doctors, but I do not know exactly in what way. For instance, Dr. Sunil George (at the Baby Memorial Hospital) and Reji are on good terms. Not all doctors (have similar association with Reji). Also, later, when I accompanied another donor, Damodaran from my village, to Kozhikode I found that Reji was in good terms with a doctor at the National Hospital too.

The hospitals certainly must be aware of the presence of the middlemen. When the same person comes again and again and contacts them asking for information on transplant patients, they should know that he is a dealer. What is the meaning in their saying they do not know? There are a lot of donors going to these hospitals through Reji. But I do not know whether there are other agents like Reji operating in these hospitals.

None of the donors who went from my village has benefited much. I have two children, a son studying in the ninth standard and a daughter who is a home-nursing student in Chennai. It was when I found that I could not sustain my family any more that I fell into it (decided to donate a kidney). Because all of a sudden, then, I did not think of committing suicide. But I don't mind doing it even now.

I wanted to buy a piece of land with the money that I got. I paid an advance and bought eight and a half cents. I have debts. I have been living out of the money and by selling a few things. I have decided to sell the land. Maybe I can survive for two more years now.

Would a person living happily decide to donate a kidney? As I understand it, only when a person reaches such a mental state would he be ready to give away a kidney. I had reached such an unbearable stage. I have difficulty in walking. So I am not doing any work. I used to work in bars, in liquor shops... I don't have an aim for the future. I have not made calculations for the future.

Had I known about the consequences (as I do now), I would not have donated my kidney. Because if we get some more money, is it not a good thing?... Many others had followed my example and were made fools of. I had to face a lot of difficulties from the press and the police because of that. But on that basis, if I get something more for which I am eligible for, that is also welcome. I wouldn't be arrogant enough to say no. But then I don't have the ability to run after it.

If I file a private complaint, do you think there is any chance (to get more money)? There is no point in going back now. My photographs have been published in all the newspapers. I am not an accused in a robbery case. The only case is that I gave away a kidney. The only thing to do now is to face it. Now I have to find out more about the act and rules....''