UK News 29-08-2002 GP Accused Of Taking Cash For Kidneys who: GP Dr Bhagat Makkar what: Accused of offering organs for money where: LONDON when: Yesterday snippet: "A London GP offered to arrange a kidney transplant from a live donor for a fee," reports The Evening Standard from the disciplinary tribunal of the General Medical Council where 62-year-old Dr Bhagat Makkar is accused of trafficking in human organs from his Blackheath surgery. The doctor was allegedly trapped by Sunday Times journalist Paul Samrai who, posing as Jaspal Singh, visited him in March last year claiming that his father needed a kidney transplant. In one conversation recorded by Mr Samrai, Dr Makkar said that the patient would not "be able to get it done on the NHS", and later added: "I can fix that for you. Do you want it done here, do you want it done in Germany, or do you want it done in India?" "Despite an international ban on the sale of body parts, the black market is booming in countries such as India, where poverty is endemic," says The Independent`s Terri Judd. "Organ donation between unrelated people is only permitted in this country under strict guidelines... The legislation does not allow payment under any circumstances." [... more]

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