Organ trafficking is a broad term used to describe a range of illicit activities regarding organ transplants. It includes removing organs illegally and selling or transplanting those organs through the black market, or “red market,” as it’s called sometimes when regarding body parts. Organ trafficking may be considered part of a broader market that includes tissues, cells, or other human body parts or products, referred to by some as the “red market” . The wide-scale prohibition of organ sales makes organ trafficking unique among other transnational crimes, because while some experts include forms of enslavement or coercion to obtain an organ donation in the definition, U.S. government sources typically describe such crimes as trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal.
Organ trafficking is a lucrative global illicit trade, generating between 840 million and 1.7 billion USD annually, according to a 2017 report from Global Financial Integrity. Kidneys are by far the most commonly trafficked organs, followed by the liver, heart, lung, and pancreas, according to the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation. The demand for organs far exceeds the number of donors, and thousands of people die every year waiting for an organ transplant. Traffickers seize the opportunity to profit on this need.
Vulnerable populations are at the highest risk of being trafficked for their organs. War, migration, and extreme poverty increase a person’s vulnerability to trafficking. Criminal networks increasingly engage in kidnappings, especially of children and teenagers, who are then taken to locations with medical equipment. There they are murdered, and their organs are harvested for the illegal organ trade. Poverty and loopholes in legislation also contribute to the illegal trade of organs.
Organ trafficking is illegal in all countries except Iran, and despite these prohibitions, organ trafficking and transplant tourism remain widespread. However, the data on the extent of the black market trade in organs is difficult to obtain. Cases of illegal organ trade have been tried and prosecuted, and the persons and entities prosecuted have included criminal gangs, hospitals, third-party organ brokers, nephrologists, and individuals attempting to sell their organs.
