We approach organizations that guarantee to treat our fatal illnesses because we want safe treatment and to live a long and healthy life. The donation of organs is among those critical processes that require organizations' trust and expertise. What happens when these organizations pull off a fraudulent scheme that causes you to lose an important organ of your body? Scam in organ donation is not a new challenge that is faced by this field. Organ donation scams are observed all around the world. Organ donation is a gift of life and if there are people at the status of God giving other people life then there are evil or not so godly status or even humanly people who look for opportunities to scam people even at a time of their death. Each day, 17 people die while waiting for an organ transplant. And organ donation scams are threatening the lives of both the donor and the receiver. According to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), 10% of organ transplants are done via, organ trafficking.  These can include liver, heart, and kidney. Every year, 10000 kidneys are traded in the black market, or more than one every hour, according to the World Health Organization. In order to understand how frightening the scams associated with organ donation are, let's take a look at some of the cases.  

THE BIGGEST SCAMS IN ORGAN DONATION

Let's check out some of the most gruesome and biggest scams in organ donation around the world.

Gurgaon Kidney Racket:

Gurgaon, an industrial area near New Delhi, was the scene of a long-running scandal where poor donors were enticed to donate their kidneys for Rs. 30000. First, they were encouraged to apply for jobs, and then they were asked to donate kidneys for a fee. If they refused, they were drugged and forced to undergo kidney removal. These organs were sold to international clients from countries like the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Greece, and Canada. Residents of Moradabad, a city located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, filed a complaint against this scam of organ donation, which led to a raid by the police on a guesthouse and home of Amit Kumar, the man involved in the organ donation scam. Amit Kumar carried out 600 illegal organ transplants within a decade. A seven-year jail sentence and a fine of Rs. 60 lakhs were then imposed upon Amit Kumar.  

Nithari Gruesome Incident of Illegal Organ Trade 

  In the year 2003, a high number of women and children were started to be reported missing from the urban village Nithari located in Noida, India. Initially, the local police did not take the case seriously. In December 2006, two village residents claimed that they knew the location of the missing children. The village residents found a decomposed hand in a municipal water tank behind a house D5 sector-31. The house belonged to Surinder Koli who later confessed to killing and sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman “Payal Koli" and his employer were taken into custody for the disappearance of Payal. Later in the investigation, 15 of the 17 skeletons were discovered in the village. The torsos of the body were missing. The investigating team suspected this to be a case of illicit organ trade.  Later Moninder Singh and his servant were accused of the killings and were sentenced to death. This remains to be one of the most psychopathic and horrifying scams in Organ Donation.   In Kerala, the scams are rapidly increasing check this blog out for more Kerala scams in organ donation.  

The matchmaker Incident: 

  Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, the man who called himself a matchmaker, except instead of finding the right person, he was focused to find the right organs from vulnerable people for his desperate patients from the US. This case was considered to be the first in Organ Trafficking in the US. People from Israel were brought and pushed into illegal organ donation of kidneys for 10000$ and these organs were later sold to certain hospitals in the US. These hospitals still remain unidentified. The scam came to light through a sting operation where an FBI agent claimed to be looking for a suitable kidney for his ill uncle on dialysis. Rosenbaum was then arrested in a basement where he was supposed to meet with the FBI agent.  

A case from China’s thriving Black market for Organ donation:

  China has a huge demand for organ transplants as there is a shortage of organ donations. Often, high profile doctors and hospitals are involved in the illegal trade of organs, one such case was found in Huaiyuan County People’s Hospital in Anhui. The hospital head along with several other doctors targeted victims of accidents and tricked the family members into organ donation with false documents. Between 2017 and 2018, 11 people had their kidneys and livers removed at the hospital with fraudulent organ donation schemes. The case was later discovered by the local media when a man found that the hospital has falsely removed his mother’s organs after her death. Several discrepancies were found in the organ donation forms, as well as no documentation of the donation with the official authorities.     Organ donation scams are a concern since they not only create myths about organ donation but also dissuade prospective donors. There are many high-profile individuals behind these illegal organ donation scams, so tracking them down can be challenging. Yet maintaining the integrity of the organ donation industry is important in order to save lives while protecting those who are willing to donate. Do not hesitate to report any suspicion on hospitals or individuals who are potentially involved in these scams.