EDITORIAL - Kidneys for sale

Self-rated poverty has hit 58 percent – the highest since the 59 percent recorded in June 2008 during the Arroyo administration. This is according to the June 23 to July 1 survey conducted by pollster Social Weather Stations Inc.

For many of those impoverished Filipinos, P200,000 is a fortune. The amount is reportedly the price for selling one’s kidney, according to the National Bureau of Investigation. The NBI arrested recently in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan three suspects engaged in organ trafficking and rescued nine people who had sold their kidneys through the gang, which is allegedly headed by a nurse at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute. The nurse, Allan Ligaya, has not been arrested. The NKTI, which is conducting its own probe into the case, said Ligaya is a staff nurse who has been working for 23 years at the specialty hospital, with no derogatory record. When questioned by NKTI management, Ligaya reportedly denied involvement in organ trafficking.

Selling one’s kidney is not new, whether in the Philippines or in other countries. Worldwide, there is a long waiting list for kidney donors. The unmet demand has fueled a robust underground trade in kidneys. Inevitably, the biggest kidney vendors are impoverished people, who don’t understand that whatever they earn from selling this body organ can quickly be eaten up by expenses from the health problems that can arise from living with only one kidney.

Apart from voluntary sale, there are also many cases wherein vulnerable sectors such as prisoners are forced to sell their kidneys, with those involved getting a cut in the proceeds from organ trafficking. Like the people who are persuaded to voluntarily sell their kidneys, victims of organ trafficking are not told about the health risks posed by the loss of a kidney. Recipients of the kidney transplant also face risks of undergoing unsafe surgical procedures when organ traffickers are involved.

There are kind-hearted souls who genuinely want to help save lives by donating their vital organs. The government has legitimate programs for organ donations, from both living persons and the newly deceased, and for safe transplantation. This delicate procedure cannot be left to traffickers, who endanger the lives of both the patient and the organ vendor.