KATHMANDU, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- In February 2008, the world was shocked by the news of an Indian, wanted in his own country for large-scale illegal kidney transplant operations, was arrested in Nepal, where he was planning to shift his operations.

    The arrest of Amit Kumar, dubbed "kidney king" by the media, and raids on his nursing home in India revealed how poor villagers from India and Nepal were lured by brokers into giving a kidney to rich patients from Europe, Canada and the United States.

    In Nepal, where kidney transplants were not conducted at that time, there were further tales of how patients with renal failure paid astronomical sums abroad to buy a kidney and even after that, succumbed to infections or medical negligence.

    The good thing that came out of the worldwide focus on the issue of kidney transplants was that Nepal's oldest state hospital, Bir Hospital in the capital Kathmandu, introduced kidney transplants from Dec. 12 the same year.

    Today, as the hospital celebrates the first anniversary of a service that was long-needed in the country, the success rate is modest but steady.

    According to the hospital, it has conducted 16 successful transplants in one year.

    The availability of the procedure in the country has cut down costs considerably. A patient needs to spend about 350,000 Nepali rupees (some 4730 U.S. dollars) while the transplant would cost nearly 2 million rupees (some 27,027 dollars) in India.

    It has also reduced the possibility of people selling their kidneys or being duped into parting with the organ.

    According to Nepal's laws, only a blood relative is allowed to donate a kidney to an ailing relative and the state hospital ensures that the laws be observed to the letter.

    The hospital's nephrology department is now pressing the government to set up a laboratory that will help more patients receive treatment as well as modify the laws related to renal transplants.

    The biggest obstacle for the Bir Hospital is that it doesn't have a laboratory where the donor's blood and antigen group can be tested to ensure they match the patient's.

    The samples have to be sent to India for tests and the procedure adds to the expenses while adding to the delay by over a fortnight.

    If the government sets up a laboratory in the country, it will help hundreds of patients.

    Currently, about 2,800 people are treated for kidney problems at the hospital every year.

    The second obstacle is the law that says the donor has to be related from the father's side.

    Nephrologists are asking the government to amend the law so that relatives from the mother's side can also be included.