CHENNAI: The Health Department will shut down four scan centres attached to private hospitals, in Erode, Salem, Perundurai and Hosur and initiate disciplinary action against these hospitals involved in the commercial sale of oocytes of a minor girl in Erode, said Health Minister Ma Subramanian.
Two hospitals Sudha Hospital in Erode and Salem and Vijay Hospital in Hosur also will be removed from empanelled Hospitals for Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The Tamil Nadu Medical Council also will be requested to take against the erring doctors, Subramanian said.
The action has been initiated after an inquiry team from DMS submitted its report to the Health Department and found four hospitals in Tamil Nadu and two hospitals each in Kerala and Tirupathi illegally sold the minor's ovum using fake Aadhar card.
Action has been taken against the four hospitals for their alleged involvement in the sale of egg cells of a 16-year-old. The girl, according to a report, was forced by her mother to donate her egg cells eight times to various fertility centres.
"Only adult married women in the 21-35 age group with a child are permitted to donate oocyte, only once. In this case the girl was forced into this several times," said Ma Subramanian, the state Health Minister, listing a series of violations identified by a probe committee.
Action has also been initiated against the hospitals under the Aadhaar and POCSO acts.