South African doctors arrested in kidney sale scandal
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《英国医生杂志》
Five doctors, some of them from top academic institutions, were arrested and appeared in court on 16 August in connection with charges under South Africa's laws intended to stop illegal trading in human organs.
The charges have not yet formally been put to the doctors, but the warrants of arrest that were served on them indicate that they face potential charges of fraud and assault and separate charges under the Human Tissue Act. The five doctors were released on bail.
Arif Haffajee (left) deputy head of surgery at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and John Robbs, head of surgery, are among the doctors arrested
Credit: INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERES KWA-ZULU NATAL
Credit: INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERES KWA-ZULU NATAL
A representative of the South African police, Bala Naidoo, confirmed police cooperation with other countries and said that the Brazilian police have secured convictions in relation to the same transplantation scheme under their own national laws.
He confirmed that charges have not yet been drawn up but that the area of investigation concerned a scheme of kidney transplantation that took place in South Africa and involved recipients and donors from Israel and Brazil.
John Robbs, head of surgery at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and his deputy, Arif Haffajee, are among the doctors who were alleged to have participated in a scheme in which Israeli people who needed kidneys received them in South African hospitals. The kidneys were mostly from Brazilian donors.
The other doctors facing charges are Neil Christopher, Mahadev Naidoo, and Kapil Satyapal.
The lawyer Gillian Williams, who represents all of the doctors except Professor Haffajee, said they are innocent of all charges and are defending the action.
Professor Haffajee is separately represented and is, said his lawyer, J P Van der Veen, also innocent.
Netcare, one of South Africa's largest groups of private hospitals, accepts that the operations took place mostly in St Augustine's Hospital in Durban, a member of the group.
Netcare is not being charged with any offences, but it says it believes that it may be called by the state to give evidence. Its group chief executive officer, Richard Friedland, said in a statement that it views itself as a "victim of wrongdoing" and will give evidence in the case if called to do so.
In February another group of doctors were among several people who appeared in court in connection with performing unlawful transplantations. The doctors concerned still face charges, as do two employees of Netcare ( BMJ 2004;329: 190).
For transplantations between a living donor and recipient to take place legally in South Africa the donor and recipient should be related and money should not change hands.
The case has been widely reported in South Africa and abroad as part of a well known international trade in kidneys.
The first arrests were made in January 2003. South Africa's justice system is notoriously slow, and despite cooperation between South African, Israeli, and Brazilian police the formal charges in this latest development in the investigation are expected to be put only on 16 September, when the next hearing will take place. No evidence is expected to be heard on that date, said Ms Williams.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa, the statutory regulator of healthcare professionals in the country, will look at the case only after the criminal prosecution has finished, said a spokesman for the council.(Pat Sidley)
The charges have not yet formally been put to the doctors, but the warrants of arrest that were served on them indicate that they face potential charges of fraud and assault and separate charges under the Human Tissue Act. The five doctors were released on bail.
Arif Haffajee (left) deputy head of surgery at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and John Robbs, head of surgery, are among the doctors arrested
Credit: INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERES KWA-ZULU NATAL
Credit: INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERES KWA-ZULU NATAL
A representative of the South African police, Bala Naidoo, confirmed police cooperation with other countries and said that the Brazilian police have secured convictions in relation to the same transplantation scheme under their own national laws.
He confirmed that charges have not yet been drawn up but that the area of investigation concerned a scheme of kidney transplantation that took place in South Africa and involved recipients and donors from Israel and Brazil.
John Robbs, head of surgery at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and his deputy, Arif Haffajee, are among the doctors who were alleged to have participated in a scheme in which Israeli people who needed kidneys received them in South African hospitals. The kidneys were mostly from Brazilian donors.
The other doctors facing charges are Neil Christopher, Mahadev Naidoo, and Kapil Satyapal.
The lawyer Gillian Williams, who represents all of the doctors except Professor Haffajee, said they are innocent of all charges and are defending the action.
Professor Haffajee is separately represented and is, said his lawyer, J P Van der Veen, also innocent.
Netcare, one of South Africa's largest groups of private hospitals, accepts that the operations took place mostly in St Augustine's Hospital in Durban, a member of the group.
Netcare is not being charged with any offences, but it says it believes that it may be called by the state to give evidence. Its group chief executive officer, Richard Friedland, said in a statement that it views itself as a "victim of wrongdoing" and will give evidence in the case if called to do so.
In February another group of doctors were among several people who appeared in court in connection with performing unlawful transplantations. The doctors concerned still face charges, as do two employees of Netcare ( BMJ 2004;329: 190).
For transplantations between a living donor and recipient to take place legally in South Africa the donor and recipient should be related and money should not change hands.
The case has been widely reported in South Africa and abroad as part of a well known international trade in kidneys.
The first arrests were made in January 2003. South Africa's justice system is notoriously slow, and despite cooperation between South African, Israeli, and Brazilian police the formal charges in this latest development in the investigation are expected to be put only on 16 September, when the next hearing will take place. No evidence is expected to be heard on that date, said Ms Williams.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa, the statutory regulator of healthcare professionals in the country, will look at the case only after the criminal prosecution has finished, said a spokesman for the council.(Pat Sidley)