Sale-of-Human Organ Scandal in Thailand as Doctors Charged With Murder by Phairath Khampha 16 April 2000 Three Thai doctors and a former hospital administrator in early April 2000 faced murder charges in Thailand in connection with an organ transplant scandal. Thai police said they had collected strong evidence to suggest the accused purposely misdiagnosed patients as brain-dead when in fact they were not in order to extract their organs and sell them to wealthy clients. In all cases the victims were poor people whose families held the medical profession in awe and were unlikely to make too much fuss about the issue, particularly as they were paid "condolence" money to "help" defray funeral costs. Only in corrupt countries such as Thailand where professionals consider making money more important than ethics and professional integrity can such incidents occur. Conspiracy to commit murder carries the death penalty in Thailand. An extensive police investigation found that three doctors and a former manager at Bangkok's Vachiraprakarn General Hospital collaborated in the murder of at least two patients. A Medical Council examination in February 1999 found two doctors guilty of breaching medical ethics and said the private hospital paid relatives to convince them to donate organs. Police say three of the accused are also falsified patients' documents. The doctors understandably deny any wrongdoing and say they would fight the charges in court. Many doctors with whom the Penguin Star spoke to, particularly at the Khon Kaen University Hospital, said it was common knowledge in the Thai medical profession that such practices were being carried out, but no one seemed overly ocncerned as "the patients probably were going to die anyway and at least in this way the poor families got some money out of their sad ordeal". No consent The police investigation was prompted after the father of one of the victims launched a petition with the Law Society of Thailand. He said he had unknowingly signed a consent form donating his daughter's kidneys and liver. The hospital subsequently paid the equivalent of only $2,700 for the woman's funeral costs and waived her medical charges in the vain hope he would not make too much of a fuss. The husband of another victim said his signature had been used on an organ donation consent form without his knowledge. Legal authorities issued subpoenas for the accused. Thailand's Medical Council said it had uncovered over 30 cases in which organs were believed to have been removed by doctors without relatives' consent. The scandal punctured the confidence of Thai patients in the ethics of their doctors and has forced many to question the trust placed in the medical profession. Not that most Thais ever truly had much confidence in doctors's sense of ethics or of most professionals, for that matter. Most are seen by the general public in using their professional sttus and position in society to influence how they can increase the rapidity with which they accumulate wealth. Kidney-case doctors released on bail The two doctors and former hospital executive accused of involvement in the illegal trade of human organs turned themselves in to police yesterday and were released on bail of 2.2 million Baht (1 US Dollar = 38.06 Thai Baht), police said. Dr Siroj Kanchanapanchapol, former director of the Vachira Prakan Hospital, and Dr Viradej Lertdamronglak, a neurologist at the hospital, were accompanied by the hospital's lawyer, Somsak Toraksa, to the Crime Suppression Division the morning of April 10. The doctors met investigators for questioning following warrants in a case in which they, along with another doctor and a former hospital executive, were accused of manslaughter for pronouncing some patients brain dead and removing their kidneys without permission, as well as document fraud. Siroj and Viradej offered title deeds to land worth about Bt2 million and cash of Bt200,000 as surety for their temporary release. Siroj again rejected the accusations, saying he had never violated medical ethics. Viradej said that he was "100-per-cent confident" the court would reject the charges against him, adding that he had strictly followed the guidelines set by the Medical Council in performing his duties. In the same afternoon, another suspect in the case, former hospital manager Nanthawit Thongchai, reported to police at the CSD headquarters for questioning, which took more than an hour. He was later released on bail, the same one used as surety for Siroj and Viradej. 'Kidney' doctor reports to police Another doctor involved in illegal kidney transplant and murder at Vachiraprakarn General Hospital reported to the police on April 11. Dr Wiwat Thiraphanich, a C7 lecturer at Ramathibodi's faculty of medicine, and his lawyer showed up to give evidence about the crime. The questioning took about three hours. Police decided to charge Wiwat with premeditated murder but nevertheless granted him bail. Wiwat, a surgeon, was suspected of killing Ladda Deeyotha at a hospital with the intention of removing her kidney for sale. He pleaded not guilty. More face penalties over illegal organ trade The Medical Council of Thailand on April 20 promised more heads would roll as it expanded an investigation into the organ-trading scandal at Samut Prakan's Vajiraprakan Hospital. The medical council's Dr Suwit Wiboonpolprasert said a subcommittee would further investigate the Vajiraprakan scandal. He said more physicians were found to have been allegedly involved in illegal organ transplants and that it appeared to be a widespread phenomenon as greedy and unethical Thai doctors looked for more ways to make money. At least four people - an attending physician, two non-doctor attendants and the hospital director - were involved in a dubious determination of brain death, a process necessary before an organ transplant can proceed, he said, and patients were in effect killed so that their organs could be harvested and sold to wealthy patients.