By IANS
New Delhi : A social activist Friday moved a fresh petition in the Delhi High Court asking for exemption from custom duty on dialysis kits to make the process of kidney transplants cheaper.
The court Wednesday directed activist Rahul Verma to file a fresh petition focusing only on issues related to kidney transplants and not taking other health issues into consideration.
“We have filed the fresh petition after the orders from the court and have raised issues only related to kidney transplants in India,” Rahul Verma told IANS.
The petition stated that the court should direct the central and state governments to treat renal failure a public health priority and fund low-cost dialysis.
The petitioner also demanded that the government initiate a programme for donation of organs on the lines of eye donation camps and review the 1994 Human Organ Transplantation Act.
“The court should direct the union of India, health ministry to review the Human Organ Transplantation Act, 1994, with the involvement of representatives from medical and legal panel of experts, for which a list of names should be suggested through the Multi-Organ Human Aid Network headed by retired chief justice of Supreme Court,” said Rahul.
The olice Jan 24 unearthed an illegal kidney transplant racket being operated from Haryana’s Gurgaon town, on the outskirts of the national capital. The people running the racket served clients from India and abroad after obtaining kidneys illegally, often under force, from poor people.