The Indian Medical Association on Monday set up a three-member committee to probe the Gurgaon kidney racket and asked the government to relax the present stringent laws to make organ transplantation easier.

The fact-finding committee, which would comprise Dr Vinay Aggrawal, Dr Dharam Prakash and Dr S C L Gupta, will submit its report within two weeks.

"Doctors who indulge in illegal practices should be punished according to the law," said IMA National President Dr M Abbas.

Holding the stringent organ transplantation norms responsible for the current crisis in the field, he said, "The Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, should be made more lenient and both donor and recipient friendly".

Under the present norms, spouse, parents, brother and sister can donate their organs. Only in special circumstances, close relatives are allowed to donate their organs.

"IMA recommends that a more liberal approach is required, so that more willing members may be able to donate their organs," he said.

Abbas said that the current scarcity of organs was forcing people to resort to illegal means to get transplants. India has nearly two lakh patients who need organ transplant. Out of these, only 4,000 are able to get donors, he said.

The IMA also favoured a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the kidney racket and said it would launch a nationwide awareness programme in this regard. The association will also press the government to open more cadaveric organ retrieval centres.