A day after Dr M K Mohandas resigned as the South-zone Nodal Officer of K-SOTTO (Kerala Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation), reportedly due to an internal rift, he slammed Dr Noble Gracious, Executive Director, K-SOTTO, for what he termed as 'propagating lies'.

In response to Mohandas's social media post announcing his resignation, Gracious said in a press note that Mohandas was not a member of K-SOTTO and that he had overseen only one organ transplant at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Thiruvananthapuram, in the last two years.  

Speaking to Onmanorama, Dr Mohandas, the Head of Department of Nephrology at the Thiruvananthapuram MCH, refuted the claims, calling them “absolutely false”. “I handled eight cadaver kidney transplants at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College in 2025 and three in 2024. Anyone who makes such blatant lies before the public has no right to remain in that position,” he said.

He warned that he would file a police complaint if the statement were not corrected within 24 hours. “When misinformation is spread about a government official, it becomes a criminal matter. He must resign as soon as possible. I am prepared to proceed legally,” he added.

Dr Mohandas also rejected the allegation that he submitted his resignation through Facebook. “I submitted my resignation properly to K-SOTTO authorities, the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), and the principal. Everything was routed through official channels,” he said.

He added that all records of the eight cadaver transplants conducted this year, along with three earlier procedures, were available for verification. “Our team worked tirelessly, sometimes performing two transplants in a week. Claiming only one was done insults everyone involved,” he said.

Dr Mohandas stated that nephrologists manage transplant care while urologists perform the surgeries, and said the relevant departments could confirm the figures. “I have not made any false statements. I have only exercised my constitutional right to express my opinion within legal limits,” he added.

His remarks followed a social media post in which he criticised K-SOTTO’s operations. Although he later deleted the post, the Health Department had already sought an explanation. He eventually resigned from his role as South Zone Nodal Officer, citing personal and health-related reasons.

K-SOTTO, in its response, said Dr Mohandas was not a member of the organisation but an officer assigned by the DME to coordinate post-mortem organ donation activities. The government appoints the agency’s members.

The agency said it initiated disciplinary action because a government official assigned to coordinate the post-mortem donation programme failed to fulfil his responsibilities and portrayed K-SOTTO negatively on social media.

It further stated that any resignation due to personal reasons should have been submitted through the DME. Earlier, Dr Mohandas was served a censure notice by the principal of the Thiruvanathapuram MCH after he cast doubts on K-SOTTO in a social media post in August.