IN THE first case of its kind, two Indonesian men who agreed to sell their kidneys to patients here for over $20,000 each have pleaded guilty to offences linked to organ trading.

Court documents cite Mr Tang Wee Sung, executive chairman of retail company CK Tang, as one of the patients who had offered to pay for an organ.

But the 55-year-old kidney patient, who is on dialysis, did not get the transplant. Investigations into the organ trading allegations put a stop to it this month.

But an earlier transplant, in March this year, went ahead at Mount Elizabeth Hospital for an Indonesian patient, Ms Juliana Soh.

Both patients were treated by renal physician Dr Lye Wai Choong, president of the Society of Transplantation (Singapore), who runs a clinic in Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre.

And in both cases, the donors had lied about being related to the patients and also about not being paid for their organs.

Ms Soh's donor, known only as Toni, 27, pretended to be her adopted son since he was 10 years old.

On his return to Medan after the operation, 186 million rupiah (about S$29,390) was banked into his account.

He was back in Singapore on May 29, this time as a 'runner' escorting Sulaiman Damanik, 26, who was preparing to donate his kidney to Mr Tang.

Sulaiman had agreed to sell his kidney to Mr Tang for about 150 million rupiah. His alleged connection to Mr Tang - his aunt was married to Mr Tang's niece's brother-in-law.

Both men pleaded guilty in a district court to charges under the Human Organ Transplant Act and Oaths and Declarations Act.

The duo are expected to be sentenced next Wednesday. Investigations into others connected to the cases continue.

Organ trading is banned here and in most countries worldwide, the Health Ministry (MOH) said yesterday, because poor and socially disadvantaged donors who cannot make an informed choice can be exploited.

But the practice continues to take place and over the years more than 300 Singaporeans have gone overseas for transplants.

The main reason for this - a transplant gives a kidney patient a better chance of survival than dialysis, where 38 per cent of people die within a year.

With a transplant, only 7 per cent die within 12 months.

Long-term survival is also better, with 89 per cent of transplant patients living for more than five years, compared to only 36 per cent of those on dialysis.

There are about 600 people waiting for a kidney here, with an average waiting time of nine years.

Some patients do not survive the wait. Others get too old and are taken off the waiting list.

Despite several calls over the years to reconsider the ban on organ trading, the Singapore authorities have remained dead set against it.

Instead, MOH has progressively expanded the list of possible organs for transplant to include the liver, heart and corneas. The organs can also be harvested from patients left brain-dead after an illness, and no longer only from accident victims.

At a community event yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said: 'There is always more demand than supply, so I can understand why some patients become desperate because it is about life and death.

'But no matter how desperate the situation is, we must never break the law.'

He added that only by protecting the interests of both the patients as well as the donors, can Singapore maintain the high ethical standards needed to be a transplant hub.

elena@sph.com.sg

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