Previous Attempts to Legalize Organ Trade:
China
China does not have any system to regulate organ trade. Since the late 1980s, there have been several indications that executed prisoners were the source of transplantable Chinese organs and tissue. Although the use of organs from death row inmates for transplantation is legal, there is evidence that the government is trying to reduce the scope of organ use through secret agreements and laws such as the Interim Law on the Use of Corpses or Organs of Executed Prisoners. However, China still suffers from a shortage of organs ready for transplantation.
In the Kilgore-Matas report “it was and continues to be widespread today that there are unsuitable organs for transplantation from Falun Gong,” another report asserts.
Shortly after, government officials announced new legislation prohibiting the use of organs without the consent of the organ owner. However, a year after the legislation, no results have been observed on the ground. The Chinese government has put in place legislation restricting the sale of organs, but the legislation does not currently prohibit obtaining organs from destitute people.
China has also introduced new legislation aimed at standardizing the organ collection process. This law includes identifying hospitals in which people may have died clinically and the possibility of using their organs for transplantation. The legislation also prohibited the transplantation of foreigners’ organs.
In 2009, in an interview with Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, he said: “The Chinese government has not yet adhered to standards of transparency... We see how organ transplantation in Chinese hospitals has risen dramatically since 1999, while there is no That is, a significant number of organ donors.” Novak has sent two reports to the UN Human Rights Council formally requesting that the Chinese government respond to these allegations.
India
Before passing the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA) in 1994, India was considered successful in managing the human organ trade legally. Low costs and the availability of bringing business from all over the world to India have made it one of the largest kidney transplant centers in the world. However, many problems are beginning to loom; In some cases, patients do not know that a nephrectomy has already occurred. In other cases, donors are promised financial compensation following the operation, but this does not happen in reality. These and other ethical issues have prompted the Indian government to enact legislation and laws prohibiting the sale of organs. However, current laws are still fragile and vulnerable to circumvention. For example, THOA stipulates that the donor must be a relative, a spouse, or a private individual who makes a charitable donation out of “kindness.” Often, “affection” is not donated, as there is no relationship between the donor and the beneficiary. They are not even Indian or speak each other's language.
Iran
Main article: Kidney trade in Iran
Iranian law allows the sale of kidneys for a fee. There are currently no patients waiting for a kidney transplant. The Charitable Society for Support of Kidney Patients (CASKP) and the Charitable Foundation for Special Diseases (CFSD) organize the organ trade with government support and pay an average kidney donor $1,200. It supports organ recipients who cannot afford the cost of an organ.
Some critics consider the Iranian regime to be coercive, as more than 70% of donors are considered poor by Iranian standards as there is no short- or long-term monitoring of the health of organ donors. In fact, there is evidence that Iranian donors of their organs benefit them negatively, both in terms of physical and psychological health.
The Philippines
Before 2008, the sale of organs was legal in the Philippines, and the country was a popular destination for tourists for organ transplants. The Philippine Intelligence Agency, a branch of the government, promoted a “comprehensive” kidney transplant that cost about $25,000.
The Philippine government banned organ trade in March 2008. Since the ban took effect, transplants have declined from 1,046 in 2007 to 511 in 2010. Professor Lee Mendoza predicted that the decline in the numbers of tourists undergoing organ transplants may serve to boost the organ trade On the black market. The organ trade ban promotes compensation on a contractual basis between donors, brokers and buyers.
Illegal organ trade
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), illegal organ trading occurs when organs are removed from the body for the purpose of commercial transactions. “Paying for human organs is likely to become an unfair advantage for the poor and most vulnerable, and donation may turn into profiteering and human trafficking,” the organization stated. Although the organ trade is unethical, it is estimated that in 2005, 5% of all recipients were involved in the organ transplant trade. Research indicates that the illegal organ trade is on the rise, and the latest report by the Global Financial Integrity Organization confirms that the illegal organ trade reaps profits between $600 million to $1.2 billion annually, in many countries.
These countries include, but are not limited to:
- Angola
- Balkan region
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Eastern Europe
- Ecuador
- Georgia
- Haiti
- India
- Macedonia
- Mexico
- Pakistan
- Peru
- The Philippines
- Russia
- South Africa
- United kingdom
- United States of America
Criminal networks have increasingly kidnapped children and teenagers, then transported them to locations where medical equipment is available to remove them and take their human organs for trade on the black market.
Poverty and loopholes in state legislation also help the illegal organ trade to flourish. Poverty is common in all countries where this trade takes place, and as discussed above, weak legislation such as organ transplantation in India contributes to its continuation. As an example, Indian laws prohibit cash transactions when donating organs, but do not interfere between spouses, which provides a loophole exploited by illegal traffickers, as the donor marries the recipient to avoid legal punishment.
History:
The international community and national governments have long been trying to find ethical ways to regulate the high demand for organ transplants. In 1968, the United States enacted uniform donation legislation, giving individuals the right to donate their organs after their death. Later, in 1984, the US National Organ Transplantation Organization created an online organ donor registry and prohibited the purchase or sale of organs in the United States.
Many other countries have enacted laws aimed at ending the illegal organ trade. South Africa, for example, adopted the Human Tissue Plan of 1983, which prohibits the transfer of tissues, including flesh, bones, or bodily fluids, for payment.
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