Rising Kidney Transplants Raise Alarms in Punjab

The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed dismay at the growing trend of illegal human organ removal and transplantation in Punjab, stating the relevant authority's control is negligible. The bench is hearing an appeal by the Punjab government challenging a High Court order that acquitted Dr. Fawad Mumtaz, an assistant professor accused of illegal kidney transplants.

Justice Kakar observed that a kidney could be acquired in Punjab for Rs1.8 million to Rs2 million, a stark contrast to the value placed on organs elsewhere. The provincial government's petition argues the acquittal was erroneous, labeling Dr. Mumtaz a habitual offender involved in nine similar cases, leading to his dismissal from government service on July 29, 2022.

The doctor was arrested red-handed during a kidney transplant surgery in Taxila on March 27, 2023. He was previously convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a Taxila magistrate on December 17, 2024, a sentence upheld by an additional sessions judge before his acquittal by the Lahore High Court's Rawalpindi Bench.

Justice Salahuddin Panhwar lamented the involvement of doctors, hospital staff, and government institutions in this offense. The Supreme Court has postponed further proceedings until June 11, acknowledging the gravity and complexity of the increasing incidents of human organ removal.