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M'lang folks sell kidneys in Davao


DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Local government units of North Cotabato appealed to the Department of Health and hospitals in Davao City to help put a stop to the illegal selling of kidney by some residents of M'lang. Ten M'lang residents who were admitted to hospitals in Davao City sold their kidneys to rich patients in need of transplants. The payment and operation were reportedly done in a private hospital in the city. M'lang Mayor Lito Piñol said they have received reports since last month and readily acted on it. "We invited the donors for a meeting with provincial and municipal health officers in my office and make some pre and post actions to stop it," Piñol said. He said they have also given the DOH and the private hospital identified by the patients, as well as other hospitals doing kidney transplant operations, the burden to stop this "illegal trade." "We asked DOH to look into this issue and I was informed that DOH and the National Bureau of Investigation are conducting investigations," the mayor said. North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol said the 10 kidney donors from M'lang were not that poor as expected by some, but were merely attracted by the lure of big money. "It's a choice that they made. It certainly is not because of abject poverty. Mayor Piñol met with them. They are not rat poor. Perhaps they did it because of the lure of big money. I still do not know of any law that prohibits this. Any action by the government should focus on the ethics of this practice by the doctors," the vice governor said. It was learned that kidney donors are paid P200,000 plus a 10-year PhilHealth membership and one year free check-up at the private hospital at the expense of the kidney recipient. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III signed an order Monday that calls for creating a government board to oversee kidney donations and transplants, ensuring proper care of donors and making highly secretive transactions on kidney trade more transparent and ethical. The order, which took more than two years to craft, was sought specifically because of numerous reports of patients coming here from Japan, the Middle East, and Western countries in search of kidney donors. A 1991 law only regulated transplants of kidneys and other organs from brain-dead donors. It prioritizes Filipino patients over foreigners in the allocation of locally available kidneys for transplants, and mandates authorities to set specific limits. Kidney trading in the Philippines caters mostly to foreign clients. - Sun.Star Davao
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