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By Ruben D. Manahan 4th Reporter
THE Department of Health denies
allegations Monday that there remains rampant selling of kidney in
the country.
Health Undersecretary Alexander
Padilla said in an interview that since Secretary Francisco Duque
banned the exportation of kidneys, his department has not received
reports about any organ selling.
“Three to four months wala na
tayong [we no longer have] organ donors because the foreigners are
banned from receiving kidneys in the country,” Padilla said in the
weekly Kapihan sa Manila.
He added that if there were
practicing doctors who sought out kidneys, they would have known
about it. “Kidney operations are not like abortion that only needs
a room to begin with. It would require a huge facility, a medical
team and numerous laboratory tests,” he explained.
However, he admitted that they
are lacking in personnel who can “investigate” the organ trade.
“We rely a lot on NBI [National Bureau of Investigations]. Wala
kaming taong imbestigador [We don’t’ have investigators.],”
Padilla said.
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