An illicit organ removal trade is on the rise.
A 2024 trafficking report released by the U.S. Department of State analyzes trafficking for the purpose of organ removal, one of the least reported and least understood forms of trafficking. However, experts believe that the trade is growing.
“Like sex trafficking and labor trafficking, it is ultimately a crime that exploits human beings for economic profit,” reads the report.
“Trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal is ‘a form of trafficking in which an individual is exploited for their organ, including by coercion, deception and abuse of a position of vulnerability,'” the report continued.
The crime is not to be confused with organ trafficking, which refers to a broader trade or exchange of organs for material gain.
Trafficking for the purpose of organ removal often involves potential organ donors being tricked into organ donation. The donors are told lies such as they have three kidneys, kidneys regenerate after being removed, or they will experience no side effects from a kidney removal.
Other times, organ harvesting is done for ritualistic purposes.
Kidneys are the most common organ; however, livers, corneas, and skin are also sought after.
Between 2008 and 2022, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported 700 victims of trafficking for the purpose of organ removal, but numbers are expected to be exponentially larger.
Due to the nature of the crime, trafficking for the purpose of organ removal is difficult to detect.
“Data-collection efforts are scarce, and some instances of trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal may be mistakenly classified or prosecuted as organ trafficking,” continues the report.
“Moreover, unlike sex trafficking and labor trafficking, which can take place over months or years, trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal usually involves a brief, often one-time, interaction.”
Like other forms of trafficking, transactions have been mainly shifted to online, becoming increasingly difficult to track.
North Africa and the Middle East have the highest number of reported victims, largely in part due to their increased number of vulnerable communities and limited access to medical care.
The People’s Republic of China has been accused of forcibly removing organs from political prisoners in the past.
“Forced organ harvesting in China appears to be targeting specific ethnic, linguistic, or religious minorities held in detention, often without being explained the reasons for arrest or given arrest warrants, at different locations,” reported the United Nations in 2021.
In 2023, the Texas Senate passed a bill targeting Chinese organ trafficking, as reported by The Dallas Express.
“China has welcomed what has been deemed ‘transplant tourism’, where individuals who are critically in need of an organ travel to China and pay thousands of dollars for one of the 60,000 to 90,000 transplant surgeries each year,” reads the bill’s statement of intent.
“Chinese hospitals are able to schedule these major organ transplant surgeries within two weeks, implying their possible foreknowledge of the heinous origin of these ‘donations.'”
The bill bans Texas insurance companies or other health plans from covering organ transplants that are performed in China or another country known to participate in forced organ harvesting. Health plans are also banned from covering transplants where the sale or donation originated in China or other countries known to engage in organ harvesting.
The Department of State report says that while additional research is being done, experts have begun brainstorming ideas to decrease the illicit trade.
Some ideas include transitioning deceased organ donation from an opt-in to an opt-out system, implementing paired exchanges matching donors and patients, creating awareness campaigns targeting potential organ donors, assisting law enforcement in detecting and investigating cases, and creating more transparency around the issue.
