Sanjeev K Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 19: In a startling development it has come to fore that the Organ Transplantation Centre at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Srinagar has not secured the mandatory permission from the Appropriate Authority which is Director General of Health Services (DGHS) for J&K Union Territory and the elite medical institution is carrying on kidney transplantations after securing the required nod from some unauthorised committee.
The State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) J&K in its written communication to DGHS-the Appropriate Authority for all Union Territories (UTs) except Delhi has flagged SKIMS as the only medical institution in J&K violating the norms by functioning without the mandatory renewal (after the earlier one expired over a year back) from the DGHS.
It is pertinent to mention here that registration and renewal of Organ & Tissue Transplant Centres and Eye Banks in all the UTs except Delhi is done by DGHS, Directorate of Health Services, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which is the only Appropriate Authority for all UTs in the country except Delhi.
The DGHS also monitors Organ Transplant Centres and Tissue Banks through regular data collection and inspections.
When contacted, Director SKIMS, Prof. Parvaiz A. Koul said, for the last 15-20 years kidney transplants are going on at the Organ Transplant Centre of SKIMS.
On renewal of the permission from the Appropriate Authority DGHS, he said: “Whatever we have done is not done illegally.”
He avoided giving more details in this context and that Head of the Department (HoD) of Kidney Transplantation at SKIMS, Dr. Saleem Wani might be having details on the subject.
However, despite repeated attempts Dr. Wani could not be contacted for his say on the controversy.
Joint Director SOTTO J&K, Dr. Sanjeev Puri when contacted informed that SKIMS had formed some committee which extended their licence to carry on organ transplantation for five more years.
“SOTTO being a watchman type authority on such developments has written to DGHS last year that SKIMS is the only medical institution in the entire J&K UT carrying on organ transplantation without mandatory nod from DGHS,” he maintained.
Sources informed that SOTTO J&K had informed SKIMS well in time that their registration has expired and had also sent them the required form of DGHS which was required to be filled to renew the permission but in reply the SKIMS authorities stated that they had already secured the registration.
They also informed that about 50 kidney transplants were accomplished at SKIMS without the mandatory renewal of its organ transplantation licence from DGHS.
Highly placed sources informed that for States, any Government officer like Director Health Services, Principal of some Government Medical College etc can be the Appropriate Authority but for UTs it is DGHS which functions as Appropriate Authority to give licenses and for renewing the same for organ transplantations.
It is pertinent to mention here that after the political developments of August 5, 2019, J&K ceased to be a State and was reorganised into two UTs-Jammu and Kashmir, & Ladakh, so DGHS assumes authority here as far as licensing of organ transplant centres is concerned.
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