Organ Trafficking - Net Worth

Like in all black markets, people are willing to pay a higher price for transplants that are done illegally. Despite the increased risk involved with illicit transplants, most people who are “in the market” for new organs are desperate and faced with the very real prospect of dying before moving to the top of the donor list. This enables the sellers to coerce exorbitant amounts of money from patients, which delivers the global black market for organ transplantation a profit of between $600 million and $1.2 billion a year.

The people from whom these organs are bought tend to be from disadvantaged areas, such as the poorer parts of the Filipino capital of Manila. Assuming that these people do in fact see the money they are promised, the amount offered to them rarely exceeds $5,000. Meanwhile, the sellers of these organs will charge buyers from wealthier countries, such as the US and Japan, up to $200,000 per organ, personally pocketing all the profit in between.

Up To Ten Percent Of Organ Transplants Are Performed Illegally

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 100,000 organ transplants are performed across the world every year. But due to a mix of government policies, personal beliefs about organ donation, and our ability to safely harvest organs quickly, we would need over ten times as many donations to meet global needs.



Of course, whenever supply doesn’t meet demand, people turn to illegal means. Since there is such a disparity between the amount of organs required and the amount available, the WHO estimates that five to ten percent of all organ transplants performed worldwide are illegal. Of these, 75 percent are kidneys, the most sought-after organ.

Article by ListVerse