Selling kidneys in Iraq
Iraq also has a problem with illegal surgery. The issue there is a black market in kidney transplants. Kidney disease is widespread and more than 5,000 Iraqis urgently need transplants. The problerm is acute enough for the Ministry of the Interior to have formed a special section to track down organ gangs. Its head told the UN news agency IRIN that three negotiators and a donor had recently been arrested. The donor had been forced to donate his kidney to pay back money to the gang.
Tapping into the black market is easy, according to IRIN. At the main gate of Bagdad’s Karama hospital, a street vendor promises to organise a transplant. “I can get you a healthy kidney,” he says. It will cost you US$2,000 to $3,000. You just have to give me your blood type and I will get if for you even before you have finished a cold Pepsi.”
Doctors are not necessarily part of the trade, but tend not to ask many questions. “At the end of the day, it is saving a life,” says Dr Karima Abbas, a surgeon at Al-Khayal Hospital. “We don’t believe in the buying and selling of kidneys, but these are very difficult times in Iraq.”
- 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
What is that bright light at the end of the tunnel?
Reports of near-death experiences -- with tales of white light, visits from departed loved ones, hearing voices, seeing Heaven --...
Why is California lagging behind Canada in assisted dying?
In 2016 both Canada and California legalized assisted dying. But from then to 2021, 31,664 Canadians – 3.3% of all...
Canadian prisoners are choosing euthanasia but the public is none the wiser
Canada is the only country which regards euthanasia for people incarcerated in prisons as a human right. Nine prisoners have...
Is Mother’s Day more fun when there are three of them?
A New Zealand court has approved an adoption of a boy named Kaspar who has three mothers. The first is...
Portugal on the brink of legalizing euthanasia
For the fifth time, Portugal's parliament has approved a bill legalising euthanasia. It passed with a comfortable majority -- 129...
Spanish governments lock horns over euthanasia for the disabled
Canada is not the only country caught up in a debate about euthanasia for people with disabilities. In Spain, the...