Illegal transplant network: ‘Dying’ kidney seeker’s wife appeals for release
SP says bank records being tracked in search for two wanted doctors.
LAHORE:
The wife of a foreigner who came to Pakistan for a black market kidney transplant has asked that they be allowed to return to the Netherlands, as his health is deteriorating and they are running out of money for dialysis.
Abdullah Halame Nur and his wife Naado, who are ethnically Somali but citizens of both the Netherlands and Somalia, travelled to Pakistan on June 1. They were taken into custody one week ago when police raided a house in Al Faisal Town to bust an illegal kidney transplant network.
“He is in critical condition,” Naado said of her husband. “He is getting dialysis every third day, at Rs4,500 per session. Soon we will not be able to pay for his medication or dialysis.”
She said that they should be allowed to return to the Netherlands, where the government would pay for Abdullah’s treatment. She said that they had not known that they were breaking Pakistani laws governing transplants. She appealed to the government to allow the couple to leave on compassionate grounds.
She said that the couple had given $30,000 to the doctors who had arranged for the transplant. “They said that we would not need to pay for anything in Pakistan,” she said. “It took us two years and donations from relatives to collect the money for the transplant.”
Naado said that she knew some people in London who had got their kidney transplants arranged by Dr Imranul Haq, alias Dr Imran Ali, who is one of three men still wanted by the police for their roles in the illegal transplant network.
She said that Dr Imran had introduced himself to the couple as Dr Khalid when he picked them up at the airport after their flight from London to Lahore. He then moved them to a hotel where he assured them that he would cover all their expenses in Pakistan, once she paid him the $30,000.
North Cantonment police officials, who are keeping the couple at an undisclosed location, also expressed concern about Abdullah’s health.
Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Amin Bukhari told The Express Tribune that Abdullah was currently not healthy enough to be interrogated. He said that his fate would be decided after obtaining a legal opinion.
Seven others were arrested for helping conduct the illegal transplants.
These included anaesthetist Dr Mubashir, who was paid Rs25,000 per operation; Dr Anees (“a quack”, the SP said), who was paid Rs10,000 per operation and a monthly retainer of Rs10,000; four paramedics who were paid Rs10,000 each; and a ward boy who was paid between Rs5,000 and Rs7,000 per operation.
But the two main doctors behind the network, he said, were still at large. The surgeon who transplanted the kidney was a Dr Sanaullah, while Dr Imran was in charge of arranging the operations, the SP said. “They made the most money,” he said, adding that they had had patients from Europe and the Gulf who had paid them over Rs4 million each. He said that the police would track their bank records to find them.
He said the kidney donors, in comparison, were paid a paltry sum. They were taken to the house in Al Faisal Town for the transplant in blindfolds so they could not identify the place. The SP said that Abdullah had not got a kidney because the donor, a Muhammad Riaz, had refused at the last minute to sell his kidney for just Rs100,000.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2011.
The wife of a foreigner who came to Pakistan for a black market kidney transplant has asked that they be allowed to return to the Netherlands, as his health is deteriorating and they are running out of money for dialysis.
Abdullah Halame Nur and his wife Naado, who are ethnically Somali but citizens of both the Netherlands and Somalia, travelled to Pakistan on June 1. They were taken into custody one week ago when police raided a house in Al Faisal Town to bust an illegal kidney transplant network.
“He is in critical condition,” Naado said of her husband. “He is getting dialysis every third day, at Rs4,500 per session. Soon we will not be able to pay for his medication or dialysis.”
She said that they should be allowed to return to the Netherlands, where the government would pay for Abdullah’s treatment. She said that they had not known that they were breaking Pakistani laws governing transplants. She appealed to the government to allow the couple to leave on compassionate grounds.
She said that the couple had given $30,000 to the doctors who had arranged for the transplant. “They said that we would not need to pay for anything in Pakistan,” she said. “It took us two years and donations from relatives to collect the money for the transplant.”
Naado said that she knew some people in London who had got their kidney transplants arranged by Dr Imranul Haq, alias Dr Imran Ali, who is one of three men still wanted by the police for their roles in the illegal transplant network.
She said that Dr Imran had introduced himself to the couple as Dr Khalid when he picked them up at the airport after their flight from London to Lahore. He then moved them to a hotel where he assured them that he would cover all their expenses in Pakistan, once she paid him the $30,000.
North Cantonment police officials, who are keeping the couple at an undisclosed location, also expressed concern about Abdullah’s health.
Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Amin Bukhari told The Express Tribune that Abdullah was currently not healthy enough to be interrogated. He said that his fate would be decided after obtaining a legal opinion.
Seven others were arrested for helping conduct the illegal transplants.
These included anaesthetist Dr Mubashir, who was paid Rs25,000 per operation; Dr Anees (“a quack”, the SP said), who was paid Rs10,000 per operation and a monthly retainer of Rs10,000; four paramedics who were paid Rs10,000 each; and a ward boy who was paid between Rs5,000 and Rs7,000 per operation.
But the two main doctors behind the network, he said, were still at large. The surgeon who transplanted the kidney was a Dr Sanaullah, while Dr Imran was in charge of arranging the operations, the SP said. “They made the most money,” he said, adding that they had had patients from Europe and the Gulf who had paid them over Rs4 million each. He said that the police would track their bank records to find them.
He said the kidney donors, in comparison, were paid a paltry sum. They were taken to the house in Al Faisal Town for the transplant in blindfolds so they could not identify the place. The SP said that Abdullah had not got a kidney because the donor, a Muhammad Riaz, had refused at the last minute to sell his kidney for just Rs100,000.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2011.