A SCANDAL about illegal transplantations of kidneys erupted on January 7 when Health Ministry officials told the media that St Ekaterina Hospital was used as a black market for kidneys.

Prominent surgeon Alexander Chirkov was alleged to be the main culprit because he was head of the hospital at the time of the transplants.

Health Minister Radoslav Gaydarski dismissed Chirkov from his post at the hospital on November 9 2005, saying that Chirkov had accumulated large debts as St Ekaterina's manager.

The allegation is that 20 illegal kidney transplants were performed by the hospital without informing the State Executive Transplant Agency (SETA), as the law requires.  Krasimir Gigov, Health Ministry chief secretary and chairperson of the board of directors of St Ekaterina, said in a media statement the same day that each of the 20 patients had paid between 13 000 and 15 000 euro for the medical treatment.

"Neither the donors nor the recipients of the kidneys were counselled by a psychologist or therapist before undergoing surgery," Gigov said.

Chirkov, who was in Germany, later the same day told a Bulgarian-language newspaper that the transplants were not illegal because they had been done for foreign citizens, who did not have to follow the same regulations as Bulgarians.

"The law does not require hospitals to inform SETA if foreign citizens donate their kidneys in Bulgaria to other foreign citizens, as was the case at St Ekaterina," Chirkov said.

In response, the Health Ministry released a media statement saying that Chirkov was "unaware of the law when he maintains that for transplant surgery from a living donor the hospital is not expected to inform the SETA in due course".

The ministry said that in the 20 cases made public, there was non-compliance with the requirement to transplant organs, tissues and cells only to recipients listed on the official register of SETA, a requirement that was valid for foreign citizens as well.

On January 8, sources from the National Police Directorate told a Bulgarian-language newspaper that officers from the Economic Police Department would summon Chirkov the moment that he returned from Germany.

An official investigation was launched by the prosecutors' office, and is due to conclude next month.

The story about transplants done for foreign citizens in Bulgaria started to emerge two months ago when a Russian citizen was detained at Sofia Airport on his way out of the country. The man later turned out to be one of St Ekaterina's donors.

Later it was revealed that Israeli citizens had been buying kidneys from impoverished Russians, Chechens, Georgians and Moldovans who had Israeli passports and claimed to be relatives.

The recipients had paid up to 15 000 euro to St Ekaterina for performing the transplants. So far there is no information as to how much was paid to the donors for their kidneys. Chirkov's comment was "they all signed a declaration saying that they donated their organs voluntarily and not for commercial reasons and would take responsibility if found to have declared an untruth. This has nothing to do with us".

Trading in human organs is illegal in Bulgaria, and only blood relatives or spouses can become donors.

Anyone found guilty of trading in human organs from live donors faces up to eight years' imprisonment.