Why Illegal Organ Harvesting Happens

When we hear the words ‘human trafficking’, most may think of trafficking for sexual exploitation or forced labour. However, there is a large criminal industry in a different type of trafficking: human organs. This massive illegal trade involves people who, often forcibly or unknowingly, have their organs removed and sold for transplantation. This shadowy industry is growing rapidly, and does not look like slowing down any time soon.

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Traffickers target the vulnerable - often refugees, those in extreme poverty, or the homeless. Their prey are often asylum seekers and refugees, the uneducated, or the poor, among other groups. Victims are connected with using a variety of methods. A prominent one is social media. They may see organ harvesting as their last hope to get them out of desperate situations, as traffickers normally offer false promises in large sums of money. Many do not receive any money, or a fraction of what was promised.Even worse, is that some recieve no post-operative care, often leading to long-term health complications after the organ is removed.

Organ trafficking networks are extremely complicated, and are also extremely flexible with many operating locations being mobile units that can pop up and disappear at any moment. A major player in the networks are brokers, who co-ordinate all the logistics, recruit everyone needed for the operation, organise access to healthcare facilities, and prepare all fraudulent documents needed. Although at first glance, it might seem like the organ harvesting world is all ‘underground’, many involved are medical staff who work at legitimate hospitals, healthcare officials in governments, and even customs officers. 

After the operation, to ensure that detection of the crime is as hard as possible, traffickers will often train victims to pretend that the recipient of the organ is related to them. As a result of the efficiency of trafficking networks and training of victims, confirming cases of organ trafficking is extremely difficult. Authorities’ efforts to curb the trade is also complicated by the fact that most organ trafficking networks work across borders, requiring international co-operation to stop them.

The recipients of the organs pay a significantly higher price than the ‘donors’ receive, if they receive anything at all. Recipients of the organs may feel forced to go down the illegal route if their life is at risk and they can’t get an organ legally. 

Without demand for legal organs, the illegal organ trade would not exist. Despite over 150,000 organ transplants being carried out per year, it meets only 10% of the global demand for transplants. This leaves a massive void, and, like in so many cases, the criminal world comes forward to fill it.

When in life-threatening situations, it is easy to become desperate, and the shortage of available organs can make patients feel forced to go down the illegal route to procure organs. Some may even travel abroad to get illegal transplants done. This is known as transplant tourism. It is estimated that over 10% of all transplants are carried out using illegally obtained organs.

For the criminals involved, there is one main benefit of the illegal organ trade. It brings in around 1.7B US dollars per year, and that figure is still growing quickly. Additionally, there is less risk in organ trafficking than trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labour, as there is much less of a spotlight shined on the organ trade. 

Like many forms of human trafficking, organ trafficking is very hard to detect until it has happened. Victims may not understand what is happening to them until it is too late, and by that time, the criminal networks will have disappeared, making it very hard for the authorities to stop these organisations. The trade is more common in countries with looser regulations or where there is less oversight, making it harder for law enforcement to intervene.

However, a solution is not out of sight. Better education on the risks of illegal transplants can help reduce the level of vulnerability to traffickers. Governments tightening regulations around organ donations and transplants will help prevent exploitation, and more international collaboration is needed to tackle the networks that operate across borders. 

Organ trafficking is a dangerous, and rapidly growing criminal industry that exploits the most vulnerable in society, and ruins their lives forever through long-term health problems, or ends them prematurely. There are many challenges combating it, but through international co-operation and tightening of regulations, it is possible to squash the trade.