Raising awareness on Organ Trafficking
- ricrotaract
- Feb 1, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 5, 2021
Organ transplantation can be deemed one of the worlds’ most remarkable medical inventions. Since the first transplant in 1954 in the U.S., organ transplantation has prolonged and saved the lives of thousands of human beings worldwide. Human organs are generally received for transplants through 2 sources, either from deceased individuals with the consent of their family members or from living donors, who voluntarily donate their organs.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the demand for organs has outstripped supply, and has thus created a black market for illicitly obtained organs.
Organ trafficking is the practice of procuring organs through exploitation to be sold on a black market for profit. Despite prohibition, the practice of illegally buying and selling organs continue to persist. Studies estimate that between 5% to 42% of transplanted organs are illicitly obtained. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10,000 kidneys are traded on the black market worldwide annually. Organ trafficking has turned into a lucrative trade for racketeers. It is a relatively overlooked form of human trafficking as it is extremely difficult to identify due to the complex and covert way in which it is carried out.
Why is this unethical practice so widely present?
Desperation, of both recipients and donors is what organ trafficking thrives on. Traffickers exploit individuals who are in desperate need for money convincing them to sell their organs. Similarly, for recipients, the desperation stems from the organ shortage and the extremely long wait time to receive an organ legally. Even in a developed country such as the U.S., the average wait time is about 3.6 years. This justifies why eager individuals would turn to the black market to obtain an organ. A distinct factor of organ traffickers is that they could also be medical professionals such as doctors or nurses who engage in the practice.
The question of whether to legalise and regulate the buying and selling of organs, to combat the organ shortage and illegal trafficking is still a highly debated topic. Although organ trade is condemned by a significant proportion of stakeholders of the global medical industry and the WHO, as it is seen as unethical to treat a human organ as a commodity, some scholars argue that the ban on organ sales keeps organ supply low, increasing their value and potential profitability allowing for more exploitation especially considering that it is desperately needed. The only known country to have permitted the trade of organs within its borders is Iran.
Organ trafficking is widely present in many parts of the world. It can be seen in countries such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Israel and even in developed countries such as the United States.
Over the years, Sri Lanka too has become a hub for illegal organ transplants, with both government-controlled and private hospitals being accused of having facilitated such operations. Just recently, in July 2020, an Indian national named D. S. Pavan Srinivas, having sold his own kidney in the past, was arrested for illegally connecting donors with buyers for kidney transplants in Sri Lanka.
The black market for human organs has been rising in Sri Lanka over the years especially in the Jaffna Peninsula, with victims being poor Tamil youths who have fallen into debt and end up selling their own organs in exchange for money to sustain their livelihoods. Donors are reportedly paid Rs.500, 000 whereas, a recipient pays nearly Rs.4 million for a kidney. A cut is given to the doctors involved in the operation and the rest is kept by the traffickers. In case of legal inquiry, the donors are asked to claim that the organ is being donated free of charge, which is permitted by the law.
In other instances, the victims of organ trafficking are innocent patients receiving treatments at small scale private medical facilities or kidnapped persons including children, whose organs are taken out non-consensually and sold for large sums of money. The traffickers have multiple methods of obtaining organs, ranging from convincing people to sell their organs to forcefully acquiring them or stealing them. Some organs are even stolen in operation theatres without the knowledge of the patient.
It is vital that we strive to stop the unethical practice of organ trafficking. The following are a few steps to ensure our protection from it,
Governments should ensure strict regulation of centres for organ transplantation.
Laws on Organ trafficking and human trafficking should be strictly enacted with vigorous punishment for perpetrators.
Standardization of transplantation procedures with a high degree of traceability, transparency, accountability and quality
More Healthcare professionals and institutions should address the issue to raise more awareness on it.
Governments and healthcare professionals should implement plans to educate, discourage and prevent the citizens from engaging in transplant tourism, which is the practice of going abroad to get transplant or getting foreign nationals to come into the country to receive transplants.
It is important to understand that as mentioned previously, it is the most vulnerable groups of society that are the primary targets of traffickers, hence they should be educated on the harm of consenting to illegal organ trafficking, which includes legal repercussions as well as the health problems associated with it. The high disparity in income and wealth distribution must be urgently dealt with to make long-term progress with the issue.
It is vital to ensure the strict enforcement of the law on medical professionals that engage in organ trafficking. Further, it is important to strengthen the monitoring of organ banks, including legal donations to ensure the legality of all organ donations received.
As it is the shortage of supply that is at the heart of the need for black market, it is imperative that this is sustainably dealt with. In the long-term, the development of medical science should be made a priority. Reasonable investments should be made for the advancement of treatment for different forms of organ failure, and to find alternatives to organ transplants.
As far as preventive measures go, it is evident that in Sri Lanka, more stringent regulation must be enforced to dissuade medical practitioners from becoming involved in the illicit trade of organs. At present, the Transplantation of Human Tissues Act, No. 48 of 1987 is the only law which regulates the transplant of organs. It restricts donors from donating organs for commercial benefit. Stricter enforcement measures should be taken to ensure that all donors, hospitals and medical professionals abide by the law and follow its guidelines.
A study conducted by the Kotelawala Defence University provides several methods to control this issue, it includes raising public awareness through the display of posters which would be made mandatory to be displayed in healthcare centres. In doing so, people would be informed to a certain extent on the dangers of engaging in such procedures without proper medical supervision and testing.
References:
By: Rtr. Dulithi Jagoda, BSc. Economics and Finance, 2nd Year
Rtr. Alex Rajapakse, LLB, 1st Year
Rtr. Amaya Wijesingha, LLB, 2nd Year
Comments