Romanian police catch an organ donor
A 30-year-old thief in jail has become the first Romanian charged with organ trafficking, even though he was a donor, not a buyer. Robert Mihaly was charged after a prison doctor discovered that his kidney had been removed. An investigation found that he had sold it in 2001 for more than US$18,000 to an Austrian man. The records of the transplant clinic of Vienna General Hospital Mihaly describe him as a “relative donor”. Police are trying to find out whether he was part of an organ trafficking ring.
Romania is one of the poorest countries in Europe and has one of the highest rates of live organ donations and the lowest of cadaver donations in the world. “Maybe it is because Romanians are a generous group of people,” says Victor Zota, the head of the National Transplant Agency. “This is not a negative fact since we are saving lives. It is the prosecution services’ and police’s job to see if anyone is doing this for money,” he told The Lancet.
- Prescribe morning-after pills to young teenagers, say US pediatric group - November 30, 2012
- Bahrain sentences protest docs to prison - November 28, 2012
- Terry Pratchett assisted suicide documentary wins International Emmy - November 27, 2012
More Stories
Could newborns solve the kidney shortage crisis?
Kidneys from newborn babies could be a “game-changing” solution to organ shortage crisis, according to an American study. According to...
Chinese sperm bank pushes the boundaries in its marketing
With a birth rate of 1.09 and a declining population, there is a sense of urgency in China about reversing...
Chinese scientists grow humanized kidneys in pigs
Chinese scientists have successfully created chimeric embryos containing a combination of human and pig cells. When transferred into surrogate pig...
People born from donor gametes in UK will be able to doorknock their dad
As of October 1, 18-year-olds in the United Kingdom conceived with donor gametes will be able to find out who...
British teen dies after doctors refuse her request for experimental treatment
ST, the 19-year-old woman at the centre of a dispute about mental competence and healthcare in Britain, has died of...
Dodging a bullet: how a report recommending ‘chestfeeding’ and inclusive pronouns almost became the norm in British maternity wards
A transgender maternity report commissioned by public health authorities in the UK last year made headlines by recommending the use...