The criminal groups specifically target the unemployed, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, many of whom are coerced and deceived into selling organs as a last resort to improve their desperate situation, and who sometimes receive limited or no financial compensation or even post-operative care.
Cira Rodríguez César
Although organ trafficking is much less common than labour or sex trafficking, because of the high level of medical expertise and coordination required to carry it out, it is a difficult problem to track as it occurs within a network of legitimate medical settings with legally certified professionals. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 5-10% of all transplants worldwide use black market organs, although the figure may be much higher. It is a lucrative criminal business worth $840 million to $1.7 billion a year, a form of trafficking in which victims are often from poor, uneducated and vulnerable backgrounds.
When a patient suffers organ failure and all medical interventions have been explored, an organ transplant may be the only way to keep him or her alive, which entails a search for a compatible donor from close family or friends, as well as from a deceased person with documented consent. No one benefits financially from this ethical donation, but the current global need for organs is far greater than the supply, according to the Global Donation and Transplantation Observatory.
More than 150,000 transplants are performed annually worldwide, yet this is less than 10% of global demand, so some sick patients are willing to break the law and pay, even if it means exploiting vulnerable and impoverished people.
Traffickers are often part of sophisticated criminal networks that profit from selling organs to recipients who are unable or unwilling to wait for legal transplants.
Such offenders are also favoured by a growing and ageing world population, the globalisation of unhealthy lifestyles and increased mobility, so that the demand for organs and transplants is significantly increasing.
WHO experts believe that the exact magnitude of this criminal activity remains unknown, due to the limited studies conducted, as the clandestine nature of the crime makes data collection and verification difficult.
In addition, victims may be hesitant to come forward, as the sale of organs is a criminal offence in most countries.
They also consider that the most commonly harvested organs from victims are kidneys, liver, corneas, ova, skin, human embryos and blood plasma.
All of these human parts are procured through complex and elusive international networks, requiring a sophisticated infrastructure with medical specialists, logistical coordination and access to health facilities, including advertising through social media or through direct contacts with the recruiters and organisers of the set-up.
They are joined by health professionals and officials, hospital administrators, customs officials and local developers. The long-term health consequences for victims can be devastating, as many experience a marked deterioration in their physical condition after the operation, as well as stigmatisation and depression, while the psychological impacts lead to further detriment to their standard of living, trapping them in a cycle of poverty and ill-health. This lucrative business is highest in North Africa and the Middle East. It is also common in South and Southeast Asia, Central America and Europe.
In response to this reality, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime provides technical and legislative assistance to strengthen criminal justice responses to trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal, and stands ready to provide capacity building to interested States. PL
(Translated by Cristina Popa – Email: gcpopa83@gmail.com) – Photos: Pixabay
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