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JAKARTA: Economic hardship is pushing many poor Indonesians to offer their kidneys for sale.
With the ease of faking official documents and lack of medical facilities at home, many Indonesian kidney patients are heading to neighbouring countries to have their organ transplant operation.
Dr Bimanesh Sutarjo is one of the only 64 kidney specialists in Indonesia looking after an estimated two million kidney patients in the country.
And the lack of dialysis centres - with only 123 in the country - has worsened the situation for kidney patients. For those who can afford it, they seek treatment overseas.
There are plenty of offers for those looking for a more permanent solution.
Kidney specialists, like Dr Bimanesh, regularly get calls from would-be donors.
He said: "When we asked them if they are giving their kidneys voluntarily or for remuneration, they said they needed the money because of financial problems. They have children going to the university or they've lost their jobs."
Indonesian law only allows organ transplants among living relations. To beat the system, documents are usually fabricated to prove the donor has family ties with the patient.
However, doctors in Indonesia are more sceptical when it comes to such claims. It is common knowledge that the personal identity card and family identity card can be easily bought, and doctors have the means to check the veracity of such documents.
Limited expertise in Indonesia is another reason why some patients go to China, India and Pakistan, where there are more available donors and specialist doctors.
However, tighter regulations in those countries for organ transplantation to foreigners have pushed kidney patients here.
Dr Bimanesh Sutarjo, said: "I know my patient did that. He took up an advertisement in the newspaper and people responded. A blood test was carried out for compatibility and all the papers were done.
"They headed for Singapore and were accepted by a well-known hospital in Singapore. The doctor was also well-known. Everything went smoothly. He spent US$163,000. It was a success. He met me and he looked normal. The identity of the donor was never revealed."
Despite knowing about the practice, many doctors here are ambivalent about it because they sympathise with the desperate situation kidney patients face.
The kidney specialist continued: "I can't prevent it. That was his initiative. He took every risk. I did not recommend such a practice. I didn't give any suggestion. From the way he talked, I guess that such things have happened to more than one person."
But Indonesian patients who may have similar ideas to beat the system now have to look for other destinations. - CNA/vm
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