Dutch university to study growing problem

A leading Dutch hospital, the Erasmus Medical Centre, is to conduct a three-year study of the international black market in human organs for the European Commission. Institutions from Romania, Sweden, Bulgaria and Spain as well as the European Police Office, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Eurotransplant and the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT) will be involved in the project.

There is a worldwide ban on the sale of organs. With the great demand for organs, however, there is increasing evidence of organ tourism, where patients travel abroad for the transplant of an organ that could have been purchased. Donors, whether forced or not, often become victims of human trafficking. However, little is known about how often it occurs and how criminal organizations, physicians and others involved operate. In 2014, an international conference will be held on the results of the study. 

Michael Cook
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Netherlands
organ trafficking

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