Madanapalle Kidney Transplant Death Exposes Organ Trade Network

Tirupati:The death of a 29-year-old woman during a kidney transplant at a private hospital in Madanapalle has exposed what police believe to be an organised illegal organ trade network involving government doctors, technicians and brokers.

The deceased, Sadi Yamuna, a widow from Boddapalem village in Anandapuram mandal of Visakhapatnam district, is alleged to have died after an unauthorised kidney removal at the Global Multi-Speciality Hospital in Madanapalle on November 9. The surgery began around 2.30 p.m. Yamuna developed seizures midway and slipped into a coma. The private hospital shifted her to S.V.R. Ruia Government General Hospital in Tirupati, where she died in the early hours of November 10.

According to police, brokers tried to surreptitiously send her body to her native village to conceal the incident. “Yamuna had left home on November 7 saying she is going to Araku with friends. When she did not return, her family started worrying. The next day, they received a call saying her body is being transported to Visakhapatnam.

Yamuna’s mother Sooramma became suspicious and contacted Yamuna’s friend Suri Babu, who revealed that two brokers, Kakarla Satya and Pilli Padma, had lured her daughter into selling her kidney for ₹8 lakh. “But the operation went wrong,” a senior police officer said.

Following Sooramma’s complaint, a case has been registered at Madanapalle II Town police station on Wednesday.

Investigations revealed that the transplant had been performed without official approval or knowledge of Yamuna’s family. The recipient of the kidney has been identified as Ranjan Nayak, a dialysis patient from Goa, who reportedly survived the surgery and got discharged the next day.

Madanapalle II Town police have booked cases against Dr. K. Anjaneyulu, the District Coordinator of Health Services (DCHS) in Chittoor, who allegedly masterminded the entire illegal transplantation operations. He is said to have worked with a Bengaluru-based doctor and two government hospital technicians, Balu from Madanapalle and Meharaj from Kadiri, to make arrangements for the surgery.

Brokers Padma and Satya, along with Yamuna’s friend Suri Babu, have been taken into custody for persuading Yamuna to part with her kidney to overcome her financial distress.

Police said Global Multi-Speciality Hospital in Madanapalle, run by Dr. K. Avinash and Dr. B. Shaswathi, did not possess a valid licence to conduct organ transplants. It also emerged that Dr. Avinash is the son of Dr. Anjaneyulu. Police are investigating whether the senior doctor used his position to shield the facility.

Following the revelations, District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr. Deva Siva Mani inspected the Global Multi-Speciality Hospital in Madanapalle, seized documents, and sealed the facility for violating medical regulations.