Buying Organs on the Black Market | The Business of Crime

Summary

This episode of 'The Business of Crime' delves into the global black market for human organs, a grim industry worth an estimated $1 billion annually. It exposes the collusion between criminals and corrupt medical professionals, preying on the poor and desperate. The script recounts real stories of exploitation, such as Sangeeta Kashyap's, and discusses the ethical debates surrounding organ sales. It also touches on the risks for both sellers and buyers, including the physical complications from illegal transplants and the ongoing struggle against this predatory trade.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The global black market for human organs is a thriving, unregulated industry with an estimated annual turnover of $1 billion.
• 🏥 Organ brokers often operate in collusion with corrupt medical professionals, creating a dangerous and exploitative environment for the poor and vulnerable.
• 💸 Desperation drives the organ trade, with the poor often resorting to selling their organs due to financial hardship and lack of other options.
• 🇮🇳 India has been highlighted as a hub for illegal organ trade, with cases like Sangeeta Kashyap's revealing the extent of the problem.
• 🔎 Organ trafficking is difficult to measure due to its clandestine nature, but reports like the UN's 2018 study suggest it's a widespread issue.
• 💉 The demand for organs far exceeds the legal supply, leading to a reliance on black market solutions and unethical practices.
• 🏦 The body trade is not victimless; both sellers and buyers can suffer severe health complications and exploitation.
• 🌍 The organ trade is a global concern, with countries like the US facing shortages and others like China accused of unethical sourcing practices.
• 📈 The illegal organ market includes a range of prices for different organs, with kidneys being the most commonly sold and valued at tens of thousands of dollars.
• 🛡️ Efforts to combat the organ trade must address both the supply and demand sides, protecting the vulnerable and increasing legal organ availability.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The script focuses on the global black market trade in human organs, highlighting how desperate individuals are exploited, the involvement of organized crime, and the dangerous consequences for both sellers and buyers.

How did Sangeeta Kashyap become involved in organ trafficking?

Sangeeta Kashyap was tricked into becoming a potential kidney donor after accepting a job in Delhi. She was told that a medical check was required by her employer, but later overheard herself described as a kidney donor. She took the matter to the police, leading to the uncovering of a large organ trafficking network.

What is the estimated value of the global illegal organ trade?

The illegal organ trade is estimated to turn over approximately $1 billion every year.

What are some of the organs that are commonly traded on the black market, and how much do they cost?

Commonly traded organs include kidneys, hearts, lungs, livers, and corneas. A clean heart or lungs can cost around $130,000, while a kidney or liver costs less than six figures. Corneas are the cheapest, valued at around $30,000.

How prevalent is illegal organ trade worldwide, particularly with kidney transplants?

The WHO estimates that around 10,000 kidneys are sold annually on the global black market, and illegal organ transplants may account for 5 to 10 percent of worldwide transplants.

How does human trafficking relate to the organ trade?

Many participants in the illegal organ trade are victims of human trafficking. They are often tricked into giving up their organs for little or no pay. Exploitation and forced removals, such as the 24 people rescued by Pakistani police in 2016, are not uncommon.

How is social media, such as Facebook, involved in organ trafficking?

Social media platforms like Facebook are frequently used as marketplaces for illegal organ transactions. Some traffickers set up fake websites resembling those of legitimate hospitals to deceive potential sellers.

What risks do buyers face when purchasing organs on the black market?

Buyers often face complications such as infections, poor organ matching, and health problems due to unsafe transplants and lack of proper screening. This results in botched surgeries and long-term medical issues.

What arguments do some libertarians make regarding the legality of the body trade?

Some libertarians argue that the body trade should be legal since it is driven by high demand. They claim that even impoverished sellers benefit from receiving money for their organs, suggesting that it is a 'victimless crime.' However, the script strongly refutes this, pointing to exploitation and lack of free will among most sellers.

What steps have been taken to reduce organ trafficking, and why is it difficult to eradicate?

Efforts like the prosecution of traffickers and uncovering networks have been made, but organ trafficking is difficult to eradicate due to the secrecy of the trade, global demand for organs, and the exploitation of vulnerable populations. Even after one network is dismantled, others quickly take their place.

Outlines

00:00

🏥 The Dark World of Organ Trafficking

This paragraph delves into the grim reality of organ trafficking, where desperate individuals, often impoverished, are coerced or deceived into selling their organs. The story of Sangeeta Kashyap is highlighted, who was lured to Delhi with a job offer only to find herself targeted for her kidney. Her courageous reporting to the police exposed a widespread network of criminals and corrupt medical professionals involved in the illegal organ trade. The paragraph underscores the global nature of this industry, with an estimated annual turnover of $1 billion, and the high demand for organs, especially kidneys, which are sold on the black market at exorbitant prices.

05:01

🚨 The Human Cost of the Body Trade

The second paragraph expands on the devastating consequences of the body trade, emphasizing that it is far from a victimless crime. It discusses how many participants are victims of human trafficking, forced into organ sales under false pretenses or through coercion. A case in Pakistan is mentioned, where 24 people were rescued from an apartment block before being subjected to forced kidney removal. The paragraph also addresses the broader implications of the trade, including the health risks faced by both sellers and buyers due to the unregulated and often unsafe nature of black market transplants. It concludes by highlighting the ongoing challenge of combating this predatory industry, where the demand for organs persistently exceeds the legal supply.

Keywords

💡Organ Trade

Organ trade refers to the illegal buying and selling of human organs for transplantation. In the video, this term is central to the theme as it explores the global black market for organs, which is driven by a shortage of legal donations and a high demand from those in need of transplants. The script mentions the exploitation of the poor who sell their organs out of desperation, highlighting the ethical and human rights issues involved.

💡Black Market

A black market is an illegal marketplace where goods or services are bought and sold, often in violation of the law or societal norms. In the context of the video, the black market for organs is depicted as a clandestine and dangerous arena where brokers operate, preying on the vulnerable and desperate to profit from the sale of human organs.

💡Organ Donor

An organ donor is a person who gives one or more of their organs to another person for transplantation. The video script uses this term to contrast the idea of voluntary donation with the coerced or deceived individuals who become unwilling donors in the illegal organ trade.

💡Human Trafficking

Human trafficking involves the illegal trade of people for the purposes of forced labor, sexual exploitation, or organ removal. The script alludes to this when discussing how individuals are tricked or coerced into selling their organs, emphasizing the victimization and exploitation inherent in the organ trade.

💡Desperation

Desperation refers to a state of extreme need or urgency, often leading to actions that one might not otherwise consider. In the video, desperation is a driving force behind both the supply and demand sides of the organ trade, with individuals selling their organs out of financial need and others buying them out of health necessity.

💡Corruption

Corruption is the abuse of power for personal gain, often involving bribery or dishonest practices. The video script mentions corruption among medical professionals and law enforcement, indicating their involvement in facilitating the illegal organ trade for personal benefit.

💡Regulatory Bodies

Regulatory bodies are organizations that oversee and enforce rules and standards within a particular industry or sector. The video implies that the lack of effective regulation and oversight contributes to the persistence of the illegal organ trade, as these bodies are not able to curb the activities of criminal networks.

💡Transplantation

Transplantation is the medical procedure of moving an organ from one body to another to replace a failing organ. The video discusses the shortage of organs for legal transplantation, which creates a demand that the illegal market seeks to fill.

💡Criminal Networks

Criminal networks are organized groups involved in illegal activities. The script describes how these networks, often involving doctors and other medical professionals, operate to exploit the poor and vulnerable in the organ trade.

💡Exploitation

Exploitation is the act of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work or situation. The video emphasizes the exploitation of the poor in the organ trade, where they are taken advantage of due to their financial circumstances and lack of other options.

💡Global Industry

A global industry refers to a business sector that operates across national borders. The script mentions the organ trade as a global industry, indicating its widespread nature and the international scope of the problem.

Highlights

Brokers involved in illegal organ trade operate covertly.

People in extreme poverty may view selling a kidney as their only option.

Sangeeta Kashyap's story reveals the coercive tactics used to exploit the vulnerable.

Organized crime networks, corrupt medical professionals, and administrators are often involved in the illegal organ trade.

Doctors at the top of organized crime rings organize the illegal trade, rather than directly soliciting donors.

The poor are disproportionately targeted for organ sales due to their financial desperation.

The global black market for organs is estimated to be a $1 billion industry annually.

Illegal organ transplants have a history of violence and exploitation.

The cost of illegal organs varies, with kidneys being among the most commonly sold.

An estimated 5 to 10 percent of worldwide organ transplants involve illegal payments.

Shortages of organs for legal transplantation are a persistent international issue.

Some countries, like China, have been accused of unethical organ sourcing practices.

The organ trade often occurs online, with platforms like Facebook being used for transactions.

Fraudulent schemes involving fake hospital websites are used to deceive potential sellers.

The body trade is not victimless; many participants are victims of human trafficking.

In some cases, individuals are held captive and forcibly removed of their organs.

The scale of the illegal organ trade is difficult to assess due to its secretive nature.

Egypt is a hotspot for the organ trade, targeting refugees for their vulnerability.

Both sellers and buyers in the organ trade can suffer from health complications.

The illegal organ trade preys on desperation and exploits the value of human life.

Efforts to combat predatory networks are necessary but face the challenge of high demand and limited legal supply.

Transcripts

These brokers hide in the shadows.

Are you OK?

Are you healthy?

When people have no money, when they have nothing else,

kidneys are becoming the only form of currency available to them.

Yes.

Yes. Everything’s good?

Do you know you can live without a kidney?

Back in 2018,

Sangeeta Kashyap was looking forward to a fresh start.

The offer was almost too good to be true—

a stable job in Delhi with a generous salary

and the dream of building up their savings and retirement fund.

The day after her arrival,

she was taken to a clinic somewhere in the city.

She was told that her employers required a medical check.

A few days later, she overheard herself described as a kidney donor

during a hospital visit.

Despite threats, she took the matter to the police,

and her complaint was the spark that uncovered

a rampant trade in human organs

involving collusion between organized criminals

and corrupt doctors, police, and medical administration staff.

A lot of these people that we would consider

the tops of their organized crime rings are doctors.

And they’re not the ones that go out to the villages

and convince somebody to sell an organ for pennies on the dollar,

but they are the ones organizing this trade.

People with money will never sell their organs.

It’s always going to be a poor person.

Kashyap’s story is by no means unique.

Neither is the body trade a purely Indian concern.

She was just one potential victim in a global industry

that turns over an estimated $1 billion every year.

[THE BUSINESS OF CRIME]

This is The Business of Crime,

and in this episode, we’re exploring the global body trade,

the ways it operates, and the risks involved

for the desperate people at both ends of the deal

in what is an unregulated and often perilous market.

It’s exploitation at the highest degree,

so it’s literally people’s bodies being taken from them.

I was over 200,000 taka in debt.

I took the loans at different times for my family,

and I could not pay back the debt.

Black market organ transplants have a long and bloody history,

but it’s only in the last couple of decades

that the issue has exploded into a global concern.

And there’s plenty of money to be made.

A clean heart or lungs will likely set you back at least $130,000,

with a liver or kidney coming in at under six figures.

Corneas are cheapest of all, according to the same research,

coming in at a mere $30,000.

Every piece of me has the ability to make money on a market,

and I’m worth, if I were to sell it,

probably somewhere in the order of $250,000.

This is no niche concern.

It’s estimated that anything between

5 to 10 percent of worldwide organ transplants

involve illegal payment.

Kidneys are the most popular,

with the WHO estimating that 10,000 are sold every year

on the global black market.

She knew we were poor, and that my mother was in debt.

She persuaded me by talking about money all the time,

and I wanted money.

This is a story about supply and demand,

and there are very few places on Earth

where the latter doesn’t outstrip the former.

Shortage of organs for transplantation

is a constant international problem.

In the US alone, thousands die every year waiting for new kidneys.

Others, like China, employ even more creative solutions,

such as allegedly harvesting the organs of executed prisoners.

The Chinese government says it’s reformed the practice.

Now they say they only recover organs from volunteers.

But some say the practice continues.

They had these, I mean, essentially organ conveyor belts

where these prisoners would be anesthetized but still conscious

and be completely harvested.

They’d harvest their corneas, their kidneys, and their hearts.

And they would just sort of like liquidate these bodies

and then sell them, mostly to the domestic market

but also the international market.

Transactions often take place online,

with Facebook an enduringly popular marketplace.

Others operate through slightly more sophisticated scams.

In September 2021, Indian police arrested a Nigerian man in Bangalore.

Gregory Yermadeh allegedly spent three years

running an elaborate online kidney-selling ring,

duping poverty-stricken customers with fake websites

mocked up to resemble those of some of the country’s leading hospitals.

When people have no money, when they have nothing else,

they’re having to sell their kidneys,

so kidneys are becoming the only form of currency available to them.

Some have made the libertarian argument for the body trade—

why should it be illegal when demand is so high?

Surely with even the impoverished sellers getting what they need,

it’s the definition of a victimless crime?

This categorically isn’t the case.

For many, free will and consumer choice

have nothing to do with it.

Many participants in the body trade are victims of human trafficking,

tricked into giving over their organs for little to no pay.

Appalling stories are easy to find.

In October 2016, Pakistani police freed 24 people

from an apartment block in Rawalpindi.

They were due to be taken to a nearby hospital

for forcible kidney removal after months in captivity.

The police are convinced that

most of the people in that apartment were tricked

and had no intention of selling an organ when they arrived there.

They’ve arrested four people so far,

and they’ve charged them with offenses

including abducting and imprisoning people.

They say they’re now searching for four doctors

who are apparently the kingpins.

Due to its secrecy, the scale of the problem is hard to assess.

Naturally, few traffickers publicly advertise their organ farms.

In 2018,

the UN published a report detailing 700 cases of organ trafficking,

which is likely a wild underestimate.

There are no statistics out there that accurately catalog

how large the illegal market for organ trading is.

It would be ridiculous to think that mafia groups

are submitting statistical information to regulatory bodies.

The trade thrives on desperation.

Egypt is another country at the frontline of the body trade.

Refugees make for a captive client base

as they pass through on their way across the Mediterranean.

Selling organs might be the only means of paying smugglers

for uncertain passage.

They were targeted basically because of their financial situation

and because they were less likely to report anything to the authorities.

The body trade isn’t quite a straightforward tale of winners

and losers.

Misery certainly isn’t exclusive to the sellers.

Often, buyers end up in hospital with complications of their own

following botched or unsafe transplants.

They’re not necessarily being screened properly,

or they’re not necessarily being matched directly with the recipients.

There’s been studies done

with patients who have returned from overseas having purchased a kidney

and they’ve had a number of health complications,

so infections and poor outcomes

with how they’ve received the kidney itself.

Exploitation runs two ways,

a fact that illegal organ entrepreneurs are only too aware of.

Desperation makes people do previously unthinkable things.

These red markets prey on desperation.

It’s the value of human life that’s on the line here.

Nobody willingly sells a kidney on the black market

without seriously dire reasons.

Just as surely, no one is looking to buy

unless facing a grim outcome of their own.

Getting rid of predatory networks,

like those who tried to prey on Sangeeta Kashyap,

is a decent start.

But the grim fact is

there’s no shortage of others right behind them

ready to take their place in a world where demand for organs

far outstrips the legal supply.