There are 99,564 people on the waiting list for an organ transplant in the U.S. I have already subtracted the 13,813 people that were lucky enough to receive an organ. In 2002, More than 6,000 Americans die each year while waiting for an organ . In Europe, 15-20% die before they can receive an organ transplant. The shortage of transplant organs has caused some very unscrupulous people to take advantage of the desperation by people in a race against death. Desperate and out of options, many in need of an organ are turning to an underground black market that deals in organs. Before you think these sellers are doing an altruistic deed, keep reading.

Many of you have probably heard the story of a man who has been drugged and awakes in a tub of ice. He reads a note saying that his kidney has been stolen. There have not been any factually documented cases of this happening and it really bleeds a shadow over the real crimes that are being committed.

There are actually three ways that black markets get organs. One- A person donates their healthy organ for a price. Two- Organs are stolen from cadavers. Three- Some countries have “presumed consent laws” that allow the removal of organs from people who did not specifically say “no.”

People that are donating their organs to black market brokers are generally poor and from impoverished or underdeveloped countries. In December 2003, authorities in Africa and Brazil broke up one of these black markets. They reported that dozens of willing organ donors from Africa’s most destitute corners were paid around $800.00 for one of their kidneys. However, recipients were paying $25,000- $100,000 for the kidney. Another black market ring in Gurgaon, India was busted this year. The ring had been collecting kidneys for over a decade from the poorest laborers in India. They paid around $1000.00 and then sold them for around $40,000. Authorities estimate they brokered approximately 500 kidneys. These are just a few of the worldwide documented cases against organ brokers that pay impoverished unassuming people to give up a kidney. Most of these cases are only brought to light when the black market harvester does not pay the donor.

In March 2004, the Director of the Willed Body Program at UCLA was arrested for the illegal sale of body parts from cadavers. He was paid $700,000 over a six year period to allow the removal of organs from over 800 cadavers. Ironically, basically the same thing had happened it 1999, but with a different employee. In 2003, Michael Francis Brown, the owner of a crematory in Ca., was sentenced to 20 years for selling organs and body parts that he was supposed to cremate. He made over $400,000. Again, this is a world wide market and the documented cases are endless. It wasn’t until 2006 that China banned the sale of human organs. They did this because prisoners were being executed solely for cadaver organ retrieval. China executes more prisoners per year the every other country in the world combined.

Presumed consent essentially says that organs may be used for transplanting unless a person has signed a document indicating that they don’t wish to donate their organs.

The effect of presumed consent laws are hard to evaluate as it isimplemented in different ways in different contexts, with differentresults… depending on the country. Countries like Spain and Austria have presumed consent laws. In some countries the wishes of the family is considered. However, in countries like Austria, the family does not have any say if the person dies without specific written instructions otherwise. According to a study done by Organ Donor.gov, if a system of presumed consent were to be adopted in the United States, only about 3 in 10 (31.3%) say they would sign up as a non-donor and 56.8% oppose implementing any form of presumed consent.

Transplant recipients from the above three methods are often rich westerners traveling to poor countries or lawless countries to buy an organ. This exchange is referred to as “transplant tourism.” National Geographic recently followed a man named, Eric De Leon, that was ineligible to get on the U.S transplant list. He flew to China for a liver transplant and successfully received one.

The faux stories about waking up in tubs of ice or doctors murdering patients to harvest their organs are really doing a disservice to the real underlying truth of black market organs and donations. I assume these stories were made up by those attempting to bring the atrocities involved in the underground trade to light. However, they have produced the opposite effect. As people debunk the false stories, they also assume the black market does not exist.