The trade in human organs in tamil nadu: the anatomy of regulatory failure

THE TRADE IN HUMAN ORGANS IN TAMIL NADU: THE ANATOMY OF REGULATORY FAILURE CONTENTS * Abstract * Citation * Links ABSTRACT There has been much recent interest in the trade in human organs in

India. This paper examines both the extent to which regulatory controls through the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (1994) are effective in curbing commercialization and the nature of

the constraints on the effective implementation of this Act. The study, a politico-economic analysis of health sector regulation, is based on a stakeholder analysis drawing on the views of

key decision makers, service providers, organ donors and recipients. The findings indicate widespread acknowledgement of an organs trade and highlight four major constraints on the effective

implementation of the Act: the commercial interests of middlemen and service providers, the ambiguities and loopholes in the Act; the low monitoring capacity of the regulatory authorities,

and the pressures and responsibilities exerted upon the Authorizing Committees. A feature of the Act is that its implementation is subject to a major incentive compatibility constraint – it

is seemingly not in the interests of any of the key players, including the regulatory authorities, to restrict the organ trade. To some extent, this institutional problem is created by the

specific nature of the regulatory intervention, and, as a consequence, measures involving straightforward redrafting of the regulation might go some way to addressing this incentive problem.

Another solution may entail a ‘harm-reduction’ strategy involving a controlled trade where procurement and organ matching is carried out by a government agency (this would require, however,

the prior resolution of the broader ethical question concerning the legitimacy of such trade). CITATION Muraleedharan, V.R.; Jan, S.; Prasad, S.R. The trade in human organs in Tamil Nadu:

the anatomy of regulatory failure. Health Economics, Policy and Law (2006) 1 (01) 41-57. [DOI: 10.1017/S1744133105001052] LINKS The trade in human organs in Tamil Nadu: the anatomy of

regulatory failure UPDATES TO THIS PAGE Published 12 September 2006 Contents