Human kidneys are no ordinary commodity. And the trading of kidneys is banned in many countries. The supply chain thrives on human charity as they are willing to sell kidneys even at the cost of their health. And they are the subject of a quietly growing global drama.
There is this one Nepalese village named Hokse, where almost everyone has parted with one of their healthy kidneys.
How is this operation done?
1. Organ donors make frequent visits here and convince the locals to part with their kidneys. They are successful in their operation as villagers fall prey to their false claims.
2. They cook all sorts of stories that human beings need only one kidney to survive or they would be offered more jobs. If not, they also say that the removed kidney will grow back!
3. Some of the organ traffickers are not kind. They don’t even need to dupe these villagers. They kidnap them and the kidney is removed forcefully without their consent. Some are even murdered.
4. The harvested organs are then finally sold to recipients at a much higher amount.
Since there is an increase in patients having diabetes and other diseases, the organ traffickers tend to defy laws that curtail their activities.WHO (World Health Organisation) has revealed that kidney trade happens more than one in an hour around the world.
Why are they compelled to do this?
Poverty drives them. With so many mouths to feed, the family members think this is the best solution to earn money. They don’t realise that the consequences can be egregious health wise and also finance wise.
Many people in this village are bearing the brunt of their actions.
Geetha’s story
She always refused to sell one of her kidneys despite the organ traffickers coming to their village for 10 years. But, as the members of the family increased, so did responsibilities and financial aspects to take care of them. To buy her own house and a piece of land, she went with her sister-in-law in India to undergo that operation for which she was paid just 2,00,000 rupees (which is very less)!
And there are many such stories along the same lines where villagers are forced to sell one of their kidneys.
This is nothing but a sorry state of affairs. Many people will find the very idea of individuals selling their organs repugnant. Yet, this market thrives.
Instinct often triumphs logic in such cases. The deceased people often end up dying premature deaths and if not deaths, it is long-lived suffering. Selling bits of oneself is never the option. The logical answer is the humane one.