Curbing organ trade
4/8/08
Trafficking in body parts has become a global crisis that needs to be combatted in the strongest possible ways. Poverty forces people to sell their kidneys, in particular, to save the lives of richer people, often at the expense of their own lives. Here in Jordan the problem has become more noticeable after the Kidney Society recently disclosed that no less than 35 Jordanians died during the past three years because they traded their kidneys for much needed money. Mohammad Ghneimat, the president of the society, also revealed that 130 Jordanians had undertaken the procedure to alleviate their dire economic conditions. This is despite the fact that the donation or selling and trading of organs for profit is strictly banned in the Kingdom, with traffickers and brokers facing up to five years in jail and a JD20,000 fine. Stricter laws need to be adopted, therefore, to combat the trade in body parts and much harsher penalties imposed on all those who lure poor people into selling their organs.
See: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=9791
Tags: health, Jordan, Transplant Trade