The Invisible Issue of Organ Laundering

• Published in: Transplantation Vol. 98; no. 6; pp. 600 - 603
• Main Authors: Manzano, Ana, Monaghan, Mark, Potrata, Barbara, Clayton, Michelle
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 27-09-2014
• Subjects: Commerce; Crime; Developing Countries; Global Health; Humans; Internationality; Law Enforcement; Medical Tourism - ethics; Medical Tourism - legislation & jurisprudence; Organ Transplantation - ethics; Organ Transplantation - legislation & jurisprudence; Tissue and Organ Harvesting - ethics; Tissue and Organ Harvesting - legislation & jurisprudence; Tissue and Organ Procurement - ethics; Tissue and Organ Procurement - legislation & jurisprudence; Vulnerable Populations
• ISSN: 0041-1337; 1534-6080
• DOI: 10.1097/TP.0000000000000333

ABSTRACTGlobal institutions, although suggesting measures to deter organ trafficking, reiterate the lack of official statistics about this illegal trade. In this article, we explore the reasons why organ trafficking remains unreported. We argue that the complex factors that perpetuate invisibility facilitate trafficked organs being “laundered” in the health care systems of the purchaser’s country, hindering accurate estimation of the problem. The factors are as follows(a) issues of globalization, jurisdiction, and law enforcement; (b) the power of health care professionals; (c) the reimbursement of transplantation costs abroad by insurers; (d) ambivalence of the victim status of the sellers; and (e) the buyers as vulnerable offenders.