Transplant Tourism And The Black Market For Illicit Human Organs
Desperation is key to the entire system desperation on the parts of both buyers and sellers in these transactions. Unsurprisingly, demand is created by buyers who need an organ transplant and are on lists that require them to wait their turn in a legitimate marketplace that relies on voluntary donations. Many people fear that their wait times might exceed their lifetimes, and they are often correct.
Put yourself in their shoes: You may feel desperate enough to engage in whats called transplant tourism, an odyssey that you can be sure will land you in one of the most deprived regions of the world. It could be a country in South or Southeast Asia, the Middle East, or another area overflowing with impoverished people. Be sure to bring plenty of money: youll bear all the costs and a large proportion of the risk for an organ, an operation, and recuperation time that could run anywhere from $20,000 to $200,000 overall.
What Is The Black Market Worth And How Much Of It Is
What Are State Quarters Worth Now? There are two 50 State Quarter value charts, one for single coins, and one for rolls of 40 coins . As in all of the coin value guides, these values are actual dollar amounts that coin dealers most likely will pay you for your coins. The charts also contain retail prices if. Black diamonds mostly have a simple cut of 16 facets with a smooth surface, and consistent black color throughout. But as a first-time customer, it should not be too troublesome, as Natural black diamonds are comparable in rate to colorless diamonds and hence in the market, considered affordable
Kidney New York: $160000
“I am what you call a matchmaker”, were the exact words spoken by Brooklynite Levy Izhak Rosenbaum to an undercover FBI agent as the two were negotiating a kidney for the latters imaginary uncle. He would later quote $160,000 as the price for the kidney. Rosenbaum was subsequently charged by the state in October 2011. Nine months later, Rosenbaum was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail, and in the process, became the first black-market organ trafficker ever convicted in the United States.
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Empty Graves Stolen Body Parts
Looking at this figures, it isnât any wonder that 1,700 families have reported that their loved onesâ bodies were stolen over the past 25 years.
All it takes is one greedy and dishonest employee at a funeral parlour to supply the black market with body parts. The parts are removed, then the body is sewn up to disguise any signs of theft.
And when you opt for a cremation, thereâs a chance that only part of the ashes is real. Yikes.
See the whole infographic below:
Image: medicaltranscription.net
h/t Buzzfeed
What do you think about how much are your body parts worth? Donât worry, there are better ways to make money.
Here are some ideas:
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Turning To The Kidney Black Market As A Last Resort
By: Ashwini Nagappan
Many living-donor organ transplants involve kidneys because humans can survive with just one. Currently, many people around the world eagerly wait for a viable kidney. Unfortunately for some, the passive wait ends in death rather than a new organ. For those whose names are too far down on the organ transplant list, an alternative presents itself: the black market. With this in mind, we consider the consequences of Britons traveling to countries such as Pakistan for illegal black market kidney transplants.
A primary consideration of the illegal organ exchange is money. Several difficult questions arise in the kidney market when establishing a price for a kidney: What is a reasonable price for a kidney? Are some kidneys worth more than others? Who determines the price of a kidney? Presently, patients pay between $50,000 $60,000 in the black market in Pakistan. Further, those who give up their organs only receive a small fraction of that in compensation. The roles in the kidney market are fixed: the Britons pay an enormous sum of money, the locals sell for cheap, and the middlemen acquire most of the money.
There are concerns for the safety of the donor and recipient because illegal transplants are not regulated.
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Why Is Organ Selling Illegal
There is still an ongoing ethical debate on organ trade and whether or not people have an inherent right to sell their own organs. Most democratic countries have an implied ethical right that everybody can decide what happens to his body however the potential harm of organ trade outweighs the rights of an individual which is the reason that organ trafficking is not allowed in most countries.
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One of the main argument made in favor of legalized organ trading is that it would increase the number of organs available for transplantation but it is questionable if legalizing payments for selling your organs would encourage more people to donate their organs or would just put poor people into financial exploitation which cannot be undone. Such a decision to sell cannot be regarded as truly voluntary and it is therefore assumed that the government has to protect poor people by prohibiting the sale of organs.
Kidney Singapore 200: $300000
Tang Wee Sung, the owner of Singapores most prestigious retail store, C.K. Tang, tried to bypass the regular five to seventeen years waiting time for a replacement kidney by buying one from an Indonesian donor for $300,000. In an effort to bypass the states strict organ trading laws, he falsely declared that the donor was related to him. Unfortunately for him, their arrangement became public and he was soon brought to court. Tang, who by then was already on dialysis, was fined $12,000 by the court and sentenced to one day in jail.
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Direct Harms Of Organ Selling
Some opponents of markets adopt a paternalistic stance that prohibits organ sales on the grounds that the government has a duty to prevent harm to its citizens. Unlike the “coercion by poverty” line of argumentation discussed above, these critics do not necessarily question the validity of the donors’ consent. Rather, they say that the dangers posed by donating an organ are too great to allow a person to voluntarily undertake them in exchange for money. As noted previously, critics of organ sales cite research suggesting that kidney sellers suffer serious consequences of the operation, faring far worse than altruistic kidney donors. Even if one assumes that kidney sellers will have similar outcomes to donors in a regulated market, one cannot ignore the fact that a nephrectomy is an invasive procedure that by definition inflicts some injury upon the patient. These critics argue that the government has a duty to prevent these harms, even if the would-be seller is willing to undertake them.
A similar argument focuses on the fact that selling a kidney involves the loss of something unique and essentially irreplaceable on the part of the donor. Given the special value placed on bodily integrity in society, it is appropriate to outlaw the sale of body parts to protect that value.
An Initial Promarket Response
The first response to this antimarket argument is to note that it may be levelled against markets in any goods, on the grounds that disenfranchised people may be coerced into selling them. A proponent of the antimarket argument, however, has a ready reply: Being coerced to sell some possessions such as old shoes, or some books, or some corn from a cornfield is not always, if ever, as seriously harmful as being coerced into selling one of one’s own bodily organs. Thus, as being coerced into selling a kidney would usually adversely affect sellers more seriously than if they were coerced into selling other goods, we are justified in treating markets in kidneys differently from markets for other goods . In offering this reply the antimarketeer accepts that possibly, for some people, being coerced into selling old shoes, or some books, or some corn from a cornfield would be worse than their being coerced into selling their kidneys. Perhaps, for example, the old book is the Torah that their father kept with him through the holocaust, or the old shoes are those that their ancestor Van Gogh painted. Yet, even though this is so, the antimarketeers can bolster their arguments by noting that the numbers of people being coerced into selling such items would be small, whereas the number of people who would be coerced into selling their kidneys would be large if markets for them were legalised. The antimarketeer thus has two replies to this initial response:
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The Dark World Of Internet Kidney Trafficking
South Africa has its own scandal involving illegal kidney transplants and the internet has become a powerful tool for those willing to let go of a kidney for a price.
People in urgent need of organs are often not in a position to wait in the long donor queues, so some have taken to the black market and online traders to source the organ they so desperately need to survive. On the other side, desperately poor people are offering their kidneys for sale and, as Shaun Swingler finds out for Health24, the only winners are the scammers in the middle.
Read:Should you have the right to sell your organs for profit?
Its easy to think of the illegal organ trade as existing only in movies but that is not the case. Some 5-10% of organ transplants worldwide are undertaken with criminal intent, according to the World Trade Organisation. And while the reality may not necessarily be that of a victim waking up in a bath full of ice with a stitched-up cut down their side, the real story is not very far off.
According to a report by the United Nations, illegal organ trafficking is an organised crime involving a host of players: a recruiter who identifies the vulnerable person, the desperate seller, the organ transporter, hospital or clinic staff and medical professionals, middlemen and contractors, buyers and organ banks where the organs are stored.
Trading in organs occurs in three broad categories:
Below is a map showing where organ donors and recipients reside, globally. 2012:
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Government Compensation For Donors
Australia and Singapore recently legalized monetary compensation for living organ donors. Proponents of such initiatives say that these measures do not pay people for their organs rather, these measures merely compensate donors for the costs associated with donating an organ. For example, Australian donors receive 9 weeks’ paid leave at a rate corresponding to the national minimum wage.Kidney disease advocacy organizations in both countries have expressed their support for this new initiative.
Although American federal law prohibits the sale of organs, it does permit state governments to compensate donors for travel, medical, and other incidental expenses associated with their donation. In 2004, the state of Wisconsin took advantage of this law to provide tax deductions to living donors to defray the costs of donation.
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When Did Organ Trafficking Start
A precise starting date cannot be determined however it is assumed that organ trafficking and organ harvesting started in the 1980s in India. Low costs and a high availability brought in worldwide demand and transformed India into the worlds largest kidney transplant centers.
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Especially in modern days kidnapping people, murdering them, and harvesting their organs becomes a worldwide phenomenon and is not just limited anymore to developing countries whose hospitals are advanced enough to offer transplant services. Also, in developed countries like the USA and United Kingdom cases of organ trafficking became popular.
How Much Are Your Body Parts Worth On The Black Market
Here’s a morbid thought: you could be worth more dead than alive.
Ever felt so strapped for cash that you joked about selling your kidney? Maybe after finding out how much your body parts are worth, you might actually start considering it.
But don’t. That’s a bad idea.
Still, it’s cool to see how much our body parts are worth on the black market. Thankfully, MedicalTranscription.net created an infographic that spells it out for us.
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Top 10 Most Expensive Kidney Organs On The Black Market
The design of the human body is truly one of the most wonderful creations ever made. Managed by a vast network of nervous system consisting of more than three trillion nerve cells, the human body is h
The design of the human body is truly one of the most wonderful creations ever made. Managed by a vast network of nervous system consisting of more than three trillion nerve cells, the human body is held up by 200-300 bones that make the skeletal frame. The construction is augmented by the presence of 639 muscles, 62,000 miles of blood vessels and approximately 7,500 named parts of the body. Out of the 7,500 body parts, nine in particular are organs that are essential to the functioning and continued survival of the body.
In recent decades, medical science has made tremendous technological leaps that make it possible to offer transplants to patients with defective organs. The defects are most often caused by diseases, accidents or genetic defects. Cases that previously signaled death sentences for patients can now be treated with transplants even eyesight could be restored through cornea transplants.
Kidney Ukraine : $200000
Three doctors, who were the ringleaders of an international organ trafficking operation, were arrested after three dozen of their donors returned home from surgery in former Soviet bloc countries seeking state medical assistance and disability payments. The majority of their clients consisted of former Ukrainians who emigrated overseas, who each paid up to $200,000 for their kidneys. Proceeds from the sales were used to finance their lavish lifestyles and property investments, which amounted to over $1 million.
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How Much Is Your Body Worth On The Black Market
On the black market, there are the most interesting things to buy. From concert tickets to contract killers, theres everything that you can imagine. But we were especially interested in how much a human body is worth on the black market, so we took a closer look and researched what your body is actually worth there. So, anyone who has always wanted to know how much he would get for his organs, from the brain to kidneys, should definitely read this.
Where Does Organ Trafficking Happen Nowadays
Unfortunately, the reality is that organ trafficking is without exception happening all around the globe. However, there are countries where organ trading and also organ harvesting is more common than in other countries. Especially in Indonesia, China, India, South Africa, Angola, Ecuador, Georgia, Libya, Russia, and Brazil more documented cases have shown up than anywhere else.
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What Powers The Black Market In Body Parts
Short answer: demand outpaces legal supply. Less than a third of US patients on the kidney waitlist will get a legal kidney to save their lives. Fifty percent of waitlist patients overall die waiting for an organ. It is estimated that 10% of all organs and tissues used in surgical transplants come from the black market.
Writers, in particular, might want to know where these body parts come from. Consider press coverage of organ harvesting from children in Mexico and from prisoners in China. These methods are clearly illegal and/or unethical. Some poor people sell an organ for their own profit. The only country in the world where buying or selling human organs is legal is Iranand then only if both the buyer and the seller are Iranian citizens.
Assessing This Consequentialist Defence Of The Argument From Interpersonal Coercion
The replies that antimarketeers can offer to defend their argument are explicitly consequentialist in character. The first is based on noting that coercing people into selling a kidney would usually be worse than coercing them into selling some other good, and that this justifies treating kidney markets differently from other markets. The second is based on holding that markets in certain goods are acceptable even if they permit people to be coerced into selling things that are extremely valuable to them , provided that such coercion would rarely occur, and so its ill effects would be outweighed by the advantages of allowing markets in the goods in question. These antimarket replies can thus be met in two ways. One could show that the numbers of disenfranchised people who would be coerced into selling their kidneys in a legal market would be low, and so the harm that they would suffer were such a market to be instituted would be akin to that suffered by the people who are coerced into selling their heirlooms. Thus, as markets in heirloom goods are morally legitimate, so are markets in kidneys. Alternatively, we may show that even if considerable number of kidney vendors were coerced into selling, the harm that they would be subject to would be outweighed by the benefits that a kidney market would confer on others.
Firstly, they may contest the claim that having about 0.66% of kidney vendors being coerced into selling represents an acceptable level of coercion.
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