Organ harvesting – a growing trend?
We reported on the disturbing trend during this global recession for the impoverished to sell their organs, such as kidneys, as a means to survive. The trade in organ harvesting from ‘commercial living donors’ as they are euphemistically termed, is thriving in Egypt, as an example, due to the lack of legislation there. According to research by Coalition for Organ-Failure Solutions (COFS) it is reported that ‘…up to 95 percent of the 3,000 legal kidney transplants per year, and hundreds of illegal ones, involve a commercial transaction’. In Egypt, organ harvesting from the deceased is prohibited, therefore, most come from poor Egyptians, who are convinced to sell their kidney.
If you thought that part of the organ trade worrying, then you will be appalled by a recent article detailing the ten most shocking facts about this international trade, including harvesting from children in Mozambique, dissident group members in China being detained for harvesting, and even babies being sold over the Internet for their organs. It is a sad world, where the poor and disadvantaged are used by richer societies, but in the organ trafficking business, it is hard to imagine such abuse can go much lower. We reprint with permission a small extract of a recent article on this horrific trade below.
The unbalanced system of too many people in need of organ transplants and high levels of poverty worldwide have contributed to create a situation that leaves many desperate people willing to do anything to sell or receive illegal organs. Read below to learn ten shocking facts about organ trafficking.
1. People seized against their will. According to a book by UN war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte, members of the Kosovo Liberation Army seized hundreds of people for involuntary organ harvesting. The organs were then flown to foreign clinics for transplantation. Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leaders have denied these allegations.
2. Organs harvested from children. An investigation was started in Mosambique after several local human rights groups and the Brazilian Mission in Nampula notified authorities that many children were missing vital organs, with several of the children believed to have died as a result of the harvesting. Most of the harvested organs are believed to be sent to nearby South Africa for both transplant and religious rites. There have also been reports of children being kidnapped and killed for their organs in South America.
10 Truly Shocking Facts About Organ Trafficking | Online Nursing Programs.net
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