Types of donations and donors
Types of donations and donors
History
Types of donations and donors
Types of donations and donors
Types of donations and donors
Types of donations and donors
Types of donations and donors
Types of donations and donors
Donation's nation
Donation's nation
Organ trafficking
The rock band Smash Mouth was mistaken when they sang “all that glitters is gold”. It is universally acknowledged that organ transplants are marvelous, however, all that glitters is not gold and organ trade is becoming one of the most dismal and illegal businesses. In most parts of the world, laws specifically prohibit the sale of organs, but due to the high demand for organs and the long waiting lists, an outrageous market has risen for illegal trafficking and trade in organs.
About 135,000 transplants are performed worldwide every year. One in ten is done with organs from the illicit trade. Sick people from rich countries travel to Pakistan, India, China, Egypt or Colombia in search of a quick solution.
Organ trafficking takes advantage of the legal vacuum in the poorest countries in Africa, South America and Asia, where it is not difficult to find people who have sold their kidneys for a handful of coins. While in rich countries donation is considered an incredible gesture of altruism and generosity necessary for social welfare, in underdeveloped countries trafficking has turned into a desperate act to earn money.
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Moreover, in some countries, organ trade is so entrenched that advertisements may even appear in the newspapers or on television. Hospitals such as the Aadil Hospital in Pakistan have extensive catalogues with data and donor profiles for their filthy rich clients. They proudly say that transplant tourism users come from all over the world to their hospital.
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It is not surprising that the best clients for transplant tourism are patients from countries where it is difficult to find donors. Israel is by far the main client of this dark and atrocious business: “It is a country with purchasing power and no corpse donation” says Rafael Matesanz from the ONT (National Transplant Organization). He explains that most rabbis oppose the donation of organs as well as corpses, so in many cases organ trafficking is the only option to live.
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Regarding Spain, it is true that it has the highest donation-rate in the world, but even so about 4,000 people are on a kidney waiting list. In addition, although Navarre is the autonomous community with the third highest rate (70,3 donors for one million people), there are really long waiting lists. “The average waiting time is between two and three years. Those who find it hardest to find a donor are those in their 40s, especially since fewer people die in traffic accidents." claims Luis Guirado, nephrologist at the Puigvert Foundation in Barcelona. Recently, there have been Internet ads of Spanish people offering kidneys in exchange for money (between 15,000 and 100,000 euros) in cities such as Madrid, Castellón, Malaga or Sevilla. “As long as there is supply, there will be demand." laments Luc Noel., He leads international efforts to eradicate organ trade from his WHO (World Health Organization) office in Geneva.
According to the NGO Human Rights Watch, Chinese prisoners’ organs are usually stolen and the government does not report it. Besides, today, many mafias take advantage of refugees: more than 20,000 Syrians have sold a kidney since the war began. Ironically, even if we don’t accept thousands of families sheltered by the massacre, we do receive their organs. Additionally, even if it can not be considered organ trafficking, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has passed a law that allows the police to shoot to kill all criminals. They also passed a law that says that all dead criminals’ organs can be taken for donation even if the family objects. This is a contentious issue because any police officer who needs a transplant can kill a criminal and use their organs.
Éric Abidal, ex-player of the FCB, went through a liver transplant supposedly obtained from the black market. However, Abidal has always stated that the liver was a donation from his cousin, who helped him in the fight against cancer. At the end of January of this year, the publication of the recordings in which the Policía Nacional and the Guardia Civil detected the case of organ trafficking reopened the case. If the accusations are true, Abidal could go to prison; the sentence for organ trafficking in Spain can be up to 12 years.
Photograph: Sean Smith, The Guardian
Turkish police arrested an Israeli for selling human organs from Syrian refugees l ANONHQ.com
A group of doctors in an operation I The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation
This Is How Much Your Body Is Worth
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We contacted the producer of this video (Tom Blatherwick, tom@humaninterests.co.uk) and he allowed us to use this clip.
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