After media reports linked it to the illegal sale of Myanmar nationals' kidneys for organ transplants, India's health ministry ordered an investigation into Apollo Hospital Delhi, part of the largest private hospital chain Apollo Hospitals (APLH.NS).
According to a letter obtained by Reuters, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), which is part of the health ministry, has asked Delhi Health Secretary S B Deepak Kumar to "get the matter examined, take appropriate action... and furnish an action-taken report within a week."
Kumar told local media that a committee was being formed to investigate the matter and that information about donors and patients had been obtained from the hospital. Reuters could not reach Kumar.
Apollo Hospitals did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Did you read this?
Indraprastha Medical Corp (IMCL.NS), an Apollo associate that manages two hospitals in Delhi's capital region, said it had launched an investigation and called the allegations against it "absolutely false, ill-informed, and misleading."
According to a Telegraph report, Apollo was involved in a "cash for kidneys" scandal in which young villagers from Myanmar were flown to its Delhi hospital and enticed to sell their kidneys to wealthy Burmese patients.
The Myanmar government did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
According to company data, the Chennai-based chain Apollo, which operates over 70 hospitals across India, performed 1,641 solid organ transplants in 2022. Foreign patients who fly into India are also treated at the hospital.
