“I decided to sell my kidney since I just wanted to own a house and pay off my debts,” explains Myanmar agricultural laborer Zeya.
Following the military takeover, the economic crisis resulted in skyrocketing prices, rampant unemployment, and financial despair. Living in a small rural community, Zeya battled to pay off growing debt and feed his family.
He had heard about folks in his neighborhood seeming to be healthy while selling a kidney. Inspired by their story, he began looking about, believing this may provide a means of escape from his terrible financial circumstances. But he soon discovered he was enmeshed in the risky realm of illicit organ sales.
The operation of the organ trade?
Although selling or buying human organs is prohibited in both Myanmar and India, Zeya soon discovered a broker who oversaw the whole procedure. The broker set up medical exams, and within weeks a possible recipient—a Burmese woman—was found. The two were then scheduled to head to India for the procedure.
Organ donation between non-relatives in India calls for evidence of an altruistic intent and a relationship’s justification. The broker created a paper claiming Zeya as a family member of the recipient in order to get around this.
“The broker noted my name on the family tree of the recipient,” Zeya says. “He made it seem like marriage connected me to her.”
The broker also set up a meeting between Zeya and the beneficiary in Yangon whereby a man identifying himself as a doctor finished documentation. Zeya remembers this man telling him of harsh financial penalties should he pull out.
How Was the Process Different in India?
Zeya was promised 7.5 million Myanmar kyats, a sum that has varied between $1,700 and $2,700 in past years. He flew to northern India, where a sizable hospital carried out the operation.
Interviewed Zeya via a translator under a panel called the permission committee, which reviews transplants involving foreign nationals.
“They asked me if I was voluntarily giving her my kidney instead of under duress,” he notes. He gave them his word that the receiver was a relative; the transplant was allowed.
He recalls the anesthesia given just before he passed out. ” Except that I couldn’t move without pain, there were no major problems following the surgery,” he explains. He stayed in the hospital one week.
Who else is selling their kidneys?
Another donor, Myo Win, went through something comparable. “I had to memorize what was written on a piece of paper the broker handed me,” he adds. He was supposed to say the receiver was wed to one of his cousins.
The broker set up a phony mother to telephone a verification call, hence furthering the fabrication of the narrative. “The person evaluating my case called my Mum, but the broker had set up someone else to answer the phone and confirm everything,” he says.
Zeya and Myo Win received 1/3 of the money up front. Saying, “I made up my mind that I had to do it because I had already taken their money,” Myo Win felt under pressure to go forward with the surgery.
Like Zeya, he had taken this extreme action in response to financial difficulties including his wife’s medical expenditures. He also says the broker never told him selling a kidney was unlawful. “Had he done, I wouldn’t have done it. I fear finding myself in jail,” he says.
The degree of this illegal trade?
Speaking under anonymity, a man from Myanmar disclosed that he had assisted in the purchase or sale of kidneys via Indian operations for about ten individuals. He sent possible contributors to a Mandalay “agency” that handled all the details.
“But relax about donors,” he said. “We have a list of people lining up to offer their kidneys.”
Like Zeya and Myo Win, records were routinely created to suggest that marriage linked strangers. When asked whether his position paid off, the man said no.
How common illegal organ trade is in Asia?
With about 150,000 operations carried out annually, organ transplants have climbed by more than 50% globally since 2010, according to statistics on world health. Still, with only 10% of world needs satisfied, the demand much surpasses the supply.
Documented all throughout Asia, including Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh, illegal organ trade includes Medical tourism hotspot India has faced increased worries about illegal organ transactions.
Seven persons, including a doctor, were arrested by Indian authorities last July suspected to be part of a kidney trafficking operation. The gang reportedly set up underprivileged Bangladeshis to sell their kidneys with false documentation.
Are Authorities Actively Participating?
Foreigners seeking organ transplants under Indian legislation have to have their documentation confirmed by their embassy in India. Law enforcement has battled, meantime, to stop the illicit organ trade.
A public health specialist from Myanmar emphasizes the hazards, including possible injury to other organs and too heavy blood. Emphasizing the importance of appropriate follow-up treatment for donors, he says, “law enforcement is not effective.”
What became to Zeya and Myo Win following surgery?
Zeya told months following the surgery that he had paid off his obligations and acquired a piece of land. Still, he lacked the means to build a dwelling. Recovery had taken more than expected, and he continued to have back problems.
“I have to resume working shortly once again. Should side effects occur once more, I have to deal with it. About it, he says, he has no regrets.
He kept in contact with the recipient for some time and found she was in good health. Speaking under anonymity, she said she paid between $22,000 and $35,000 in recent years—100 million kyats—and denied any falsification of any records.
Six months following his surgery, Myo Win admitted he was unemployed and struggling financially even though he had paid off most of his bills. He also suffered with stomach issues following surgery.
Originally claiming he had no remorse, he then said, “I am telling other people not to do this. It’s not good. Though for many it results in long-term health and financial difficulties, the illegal organ trafficking may have offered brief comfort.
