Only one case of organ trafficking in the last six months - DSWD

MANILA, Philippines - Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral has received reports of only one case of organ trafficking – in Mindanao, which is under investigation – in the past six months after the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, were issued last June.

“Our advocacy efforts have paid off,” she said.

“We have stopped the sale of human organs dead on its tracks and have prevented further exploitation of the poor.”

Quoting Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, Cabral said the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, which she co-chairs, has not received any report on transplantation of organs from Filipinos to foreigners since the IRR took effect.

“There has been virtually zero incidence of organ trafficking in the country,” she said.

However, Cabral said one reported case of organ trafficking in Mindanao is undergoing investigation.

“The transplant surgeon in question and his assistants have been suspended from performing transplant surgery in the Mindanao hospital, and the hospital has been ordered by the Department of Health to cease and desist from performing transplant operations while the case is under investigation,” she said.

Cabral said that exploitation of poor Filipinos, especially by foreigners, was rampant before the government banned the transplant of organs to recipients without any relation to the donor last year.

To monitor and regulate organ donation, the IRR requires all hospital administrators to submit a monthly report to the DOH on organ transplants performed, she added.

The law imposes up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of not less than P1 million but not more than P2 million on anyone found guilty of engaging in the “buy and sell” of human organs.

The IRR states that no foreigner may receive an organ from a living non-related Filipino donor. – Helen Flores