Organ Harvesting & Trafficking (The Human Organ Trade)

[EnolaGaia]

“kidney count was low.” ...
It sounds unlikely. According to this article she would have had an incision up to 30cm long. If it had been removed using keyhole surgery there would still be a series of small cuts.

The "kidney count" bit made me chuckle ... But more seriously ...

I agree about the incision issue, though I don't know whether the BBL involves a cut close enough to reach a kidney.

The lack of detail renders this story a matter of hearsay from a YouTube self-promoter. As such, I'm not betting on its validity.

 

[Mythopoeika]

“kidney count was low.”
Precisely 50% of normal in fact.

It sounds unlikely. According to this article she would have had an incision up to 30cm long. If it had been removed using keyhole surgery there would still be a series of small cuts.

She had a tummy tuck as well. Plenty of opportunity to rummage about in the internals with that.

 

[Endlessly Amazed]

For about 10 years, my DH’s job was to fly around the US and negotiate prices with organ transplant hospitals and the doctors, and to support fund-raising for uninsured and underinsured families with a member in need of a transplant. At least for the cases in which he was involved, the paperwork and paper trail were very detailed. This is for legitimate transplants. All the recipients of transplants he worked with needed them because of genetic defects: 100%.

I have no idea in the US what percentage of transplanted organs (including skin, bone matrix, and other weird parts) were illegally harvested. I guess abut 10-20% based in no facts at all.

Thirty years ago, a Sandinista friend from Nicaragua was quite sure that the US killed poor people around the world and used their organs for Americans. She could not tell me why she thought this, only that everyone in Nicaragua knew this.

When I pointed out that totalitarian countries like China were more likely to do this, she refuted this because China, as a communist country, would never treat poor people like this.

 

[ramonmercado]

Update.

A prominent Nigerian senator has appeared in court in London for a second time charged with arranging to bring a child to the UK for organ donation.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, stood in the dock at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court wearing a grey tracksuit and holding a bible. He will next appear at Westminster Magistrates' court on 7 July. No bail application was made and Mr Ekweremadu will remain in custody.

Part of the alleged offence was committed abroad and as a result the consent of the attorney general is required for the case to continue.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61992856

Update.

A Nigerian senator is on trial charged with exploiting a 21-year-old to come to London and donate a kidney.

Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, their daughter Sonia, 25, and an associate, Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, allegedly broke modern slavery laws. The Old Bailey heard on Monday that Mr Ekweremadu illegally paid a street trader from Lagos, to travel to the UK, for a donation to help Sonia, who suffers from a kidney disease. The defendants deny the charges.

Opening the case, prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said Mr Ekweremadu's "status and influence had produced a significant degree of wealth".
The family from Willesden Green, north-west London, had "international connections" he said. Sonia Ekweremadu's condition, he said, could have been alleviated or cured by a kidney transplant, and the family was "close, open and loving", with a "direct interest in Sonia's medical treatment."

But, he told the jury, rewarding someone for a kidney donation was illegal. He said there was an "obvious risk that those providing organs for transplantation for reward are likely to come from the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society."

The defendants have been charged under modern slavery legislation which makes it an offence to "arrange or facilitate the travel" of a person to the UK for exploitation. This offence carries a higher potential sentence of life, compared to a maximum of three years for illegally making an organ donation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-64541456

 

[ramonmercado]

Update.

A Nigerian senator is on trial charged with exploiting a 21-year-old to come to London and donate a kidney.

Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, their daughter Sonia, 25, and an associate, Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, allegedly broke modern slavery laws. The Old Bailey heard on Monday that Mr Ekweremadu illegally paid a street trader from Lagos, to travel to the UK, for a donation to help Sonia, who suffers from a kidney disease. The defendants deny the charges.

Opening the case, prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said Mr Ekweremadu's "status and influence had produced a significant degree of wealth".
The family from Willesden Green, north-west London, had "international connections" he said. Sonia Ekweremadu's condition, he said, could have been alleviated or cured by a kidney transplant, and the family was "close, open and loving", with a "direct interest in Sonia's medical treatment."

But, he told the jury, rewarding someone for a kidney donation was illegal. He said there was an "obvious risk that those providing organs for transplantation for reward are likely to come from the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society."

The defendants have been charged under modern slavery legislation which makes it an offence to "arrange or facilitate the travel" of a person to the UK for exploitation. This offence carries a higher potential sentence of life, compared to a maximum of three years for illegally making an organ donation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-64541456

Guilty! A man after my own heart, kidneys, liver etc

A senior wealthy Nigerian politician, his wife and a medical "middleman" have been found guilty of an organ-trafficking plot, after they brought a 21-year-old man to the UK from Lagos.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice, 56, and Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, were convicted of conspiring to exploit the man for his kidney, in the first such case under modern slavery laws. The Old Bailey heard the organ was for the couple's daughter, Sonia, aged 25. She was cleared of the same charge.

The victim, a street trader from Lagos, was brought to the UK last year to provide a kidney in an £80,000 private transplant at the Royal Free Hospital in London. The prosecution said he was offered up to £7,000 and promised opportunities in the UK for helping, and that he only realised what was going on when he met doctors at the hospital.

It was alleged the defendants had tried to convince medics at the Royal Free by pretending he was the cousin of Sonia, who has a debilitating illness and remains on weekly dialysis, when they were not related.

While it is lawful to donate a kidney, it becomes criminal if there is a reward of money or other material advantage. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-65013545

 

[ramonmercado]

Guilty! A man after my own heart, kidneys, liver etc

A senior wealthy Nigerian politician, his wife and a medical "middleman" have been found guilty of an organ-trafficking plot, after they brought a 21-year-old man to the UK from Lagos.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice, 56, and Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, were convicted of conspiring to exploit the man for his kidney, in the first such case under modern slavery laws. The Old Bailey heard the organ was for the couple's daughter, Sonia, aged 25. She was cleared of the same charge.

The victim, a street trader from Lagos, was brought to the UK last year to provide a kidney in an £80,000 private transplant at the Royal Free Hospital in London. The prosecution said he was offered up to £7,000 and promised opportunities in the UK for helping, and that he only realised what was going on when he met doctors at the hospital.

It was alleged the defendants had tried to convince medics at the Royal Free by pretending he was the cousin of Sonia, who has a debilitating illness and remains on weekly dialysis, when they were not related.

While it is lawful to donate a kidney, it becomes criminal if there is a reward of money or other material advantage. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-65013545

More background info on the trafficking victim.

Daniel, whose real name cannot be reported for legal reasons, grew up in a big family in rural Nigeria, without running water or electricity.

Aged 15, he was selling mobile phone accessories from a barrow in the capital Lagos and sending money home. In 2022, aged 21, he walked into a police station near Heathrow, tired, homeless and terrified. He told police he had run away because people wanted to take one of his kidneys.

• Trader gives evidence at organ donation plot trial
• Mum accused in organ plot denies helping find donor

While Daniel pushed his barrow, at the other end of the Nigerian social ladder, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice grew increasingly worried about their daughter's health.

The Ekweremadus approached a middleman, Dr Obinna Obeta, who in July 2021, had himself received a kidney donation, using his connections to make it happen: a Nigerian doctor friend in Cambridge organised fundraising, a young donor was found in Nigeria, and the private operation took place at London's Royal Free Hospital. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65015489

 

[Kondoru]

And they cleared the daughter? She knew what was going on.

 

[ramonmercado]

And they cleared the daughter? She knew what was going on.

Not having heard the full evidence that was put before the jury I'm not sure about that. The extent of her culpability is questionable, a young woman facing death would hardly be expected to carry out due diligence checks on where the donor liver was coming from. She didn't personally locate Daniel and it would be reasonable for her to assume that the hospital was above board in it's procedures.

 

[ramonmercado]

Update.

A wealthy Nigerian politician, his wife and their "middleman" have been jailed for an organ-trafficking plot, after bringing a man to the UK from Lagos.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 56, wanted the organ for their 25-year-old daughter Sonia, the couple's trial at the Old Bailey heard. The pair and and Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, were convicted previously of conspiring to exploit the man for his kidney. It is said to be the first such case under modern slavery laws.

Ike Ekweremadu, who was described by the judge as the "driving force throughout", was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison.
Dr Obeta was sentenced to 10 years after the judge found he had targeted the potential donor who was young, poor and vulnerable.

Beatrice Ekweremadu was jailed for four years and six months due to her more limited involvement.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-65494027

 

[ramonmercado]

Update.

A wealthy Nigerian politician, his wife and their "middleman" have been jailed for an organ-trafficking plot, after bringing a man to the UK from Lagos.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 56, wanted the organ for their 25-year-old daughter Sonia, the couple's trial at the Old Bailey heard. The pair and and Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, were convicted previously of conspiring to exploit the man for his kidney. It is said to be the first such case under modern slavery laws.

Ike Ekweremadu, who was described by the judge as the "driving force throughout", was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison.
Dr Obeta was sentenced to 10 years after the judge found he had targeted the potential donor who was young, poor and vulnerable.

Beatrice Ekweremadu was jailed for four years and six months due to her more limited involvement.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-65494027

More info on this and other cases.

When a man who'd been sleeping rough walked into a police station near Heathrow Airport, it would lead to the UK's first prosecution of human trafficking for organ removal. The BBC has been given unprecedented access to the Metropolitan Police team that investigated this historic case.

Daniel was about to get the fright of his life. He was sitting in a consulting room at the Royal Free hospital in London, speaking to doctors with his limited English. The 21-year-old street trader from Lagos, Nigeria, had come to the UK days earlier for what he had been told was a "life-changing opportunity". He thought he was going to get a better job.

But now doctors were talking to him about the risks of the operation and the need for lifelong medical care. It was at that moment, Daniel told investigators, that he realised there was no job opportunity and he had been brought to the UK to give a kidney to a stranger.

"He was going to literally be cut up like a piece of meat, take what they wanted out of him and then stitch him back up," according to Cristina Huddleston, from the anti modern slavery group Justice and Care.

Luckily for Daniel, the doctors had become suspicious that he didn't know what was going on and feared he was being coerced. So they halted the process.

Daniel was not free of his traffickers though. Back in the flat he was staying in, two men came to examine him. It was then he overheard a conversation about sending him back to Nigeria to remove his kidney there. He fled, and after two nights sleeping rough, he walked into a police station near Heathrow, triggering an investigation that would lead to the UK's first prosecution for human trafficking for organ removal.

That was in May 2022, and Daniel - not his real name - now lives under heavy police protection. The BBC's File on 4 has learned that his ground-breaking case alerted UK authorities to other instances of organ trafficking. These include:

• The case of an Indian man in his 60s who has been arrested in the UK on suspicion of conspiring to exploit a person for organ removal. He was arrested earlier this month and released on bail
• A case referred to police by the Human Tissue Authority, which must approve living organ transplants in the UK, after it refused to give the go-ahead
• A "handful" of other referrals to police by the authority, of people it suspects have returned to the UK after having illegally paid for transplants abroad
• Meanwhile, the Met Police says it is still investigating "other outstanding suspects" from its original investigation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/65960515

 

[taras]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1680942646422847490

Columnist Petronella Wyatt on Twitter:

I know of two British women in a well known London hospital who came back from Turkey with no kidneys. Their organs were literally stolen while the women were under anesthetic. The deals luring Brits to Istanbul for cosmetic surgery https://mol.im/a/12151565 via
@MailOnline

I meant minus one kidney each.

I don’t pretend to have medical knowledge and I often make a fool of myself. But the story is true. It came from a senior nurse who works in the hospital.

 

[maximus otter]

Pakistan organ harvesting ring smashed​

An illegal organ harvesting ring, which surgically removed kidneys from hundreds of patients in Pakistan for wealthy people needing a transplant, has been smashed by police.

Alleged gang leader, identified as “Dr Fawad,” is accused of conducting 328 operations on people to cut out their kidney alongside his anesthetist - an unnamed car mechanic.

Some of the patients whose organs were harvested did not know their kidney was removed, according to police.

The so-called doctor would allegedly sell them to clients for up to 10 million Pakistani rupees (£28,784) each, said Mohsin Naqvi, the chief minister of Punjab province.

He said the gang lured patients from hospitals and performed the operations privately in the region of Taxila, the city of Lahore and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

“They were able to do this in Kashmir because there is no law regarding kidney transplant, so it was easier for them to carry out the operations there,” Naqvi said.

https://www.itv.com/news/2023-10-03...ring-smashed-after-illegally-removing-kidneys

maximus otter

 

[ramonmercado]

Organ trafficking in RoI

Trafficking of children is increasing in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, according to a global report, which also shows at least one person has been trafficked into Ireland for illegal removal of their organs.

In the three years between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, 140 victims of human trafficking have been detected in Ireland, including at least 10 children. The breakdown reveals there are 77 people brought into Ireland for sexual exploitation and 50 for forced labour.

The statistics are contained in the 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
“Child trafficking, trafficking for forced labour and forced criminality are rising as poverty, conflict, and climate leave more people vulnerable to exploitation,” the report said. “The global number of detected child victims increased 31% in 2022 compared to 2019, with a 38% rise recorded for girls. More boy victims have been detected in areas where increasing numbers of unaccompanied and separated children had been recorded.”

It also includes fewer than five people in 2022 for the purpose of removal of organs. For privacy reasons, the report did not specify the exact number when figures were lower than five.

According to the UN, traffickers profit through the sale of organs to people who are “unable or unwilling to wait for legal transplants”. Kidneys are the most harvested organs from victims of trafficking, according to the UN, “followed by parts of livers”.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41537888.html

 

[ramonmercado]

Bad news from Myanmar.

"I just wanted to own a house and pay off my debts - that's why I decided to sell my kidney," says Zeya, a farm worker in Myanmar.

Prices had soared after a military coup in 2021 triggered civil war. He could barely feed his young family and was badly in debt.

They all lived in his mother-in-law's house, in a village where thatched houses lined dirt roads, a few hours' drive from the country's largest city, Yangon.

Zeya, whose name has been changed to conceal his identity, knew of local people who had sold one of their kidneys. "They looked healthy to me," he says. So he started asking around.

He is one of eight people in the area who told BBC Burmese they had sold a kidney by travelling to India.

Illegal organ trading is a problem across Asia, and Zeya's story gives an insight into how it takes place.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgy8p3pe71o