Dr Ketan Desai was consummate political operator

The purpose of the World Medical Association is to serve humanity by endeavoring to achieve the highest international standards in Medical Education, Medical Science, Medical Art and Medical Ethics, and Health Care for all people in the world.” High standards, exceedingly high. Unfortunately the president-elect of the WMA, Dr Ketan Desai, has just been arrested and charged with accepting a bribe to accredit a medical college in the Punjab.

According to Indian newspapers, Dr Desai, a urologist, was a consummate political operator who had amassed a fortune through corrupt practices. It was through him that private medical colleges were accredited, the number of seats could be increased and annual inspections were held.

This is not even the first time that the resourceful Dr Desai has been charged with corruption. Back in 2001, he was removed from his position as the president of the Medical Council of India. However, he clawed his way back and was once again elected as president of the MCI in 2009. It is not for nothing that his personal website describes him as “”an apostle of genuine imagination, innovation and creativity which has resulted in his enviable ascending to key positions in the world of medicine.”

In his second term as president of the MCI, Dr Desai was a crusader for medical ethics and banned Indian doctors from accepting gifts from pharmaceutical companies.

Michael Cook
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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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