A recent investigation by Newsweek reveals the alarming use of social media and cryptocurrency in the organ trafficking trade. Modern technology is being misused on platforms like Telegram, where human organs are sold in exchange for cryptocurrency.
Demand and desperation
The demand for organs is fueled by a global shortage, with about 90,000 people waiting for kidney transplants in the U.S. alone. This scarcity drives desperate individuals to sell their organs to escape poverty, or they are tricked into giving them up.
“[Organ harvesting is] primarily an activity of people preying on the desperate – migrants, refugees from war zones. They have no sort of financial wherewithal at all. The most valuable thing they may possess is their organs. Some people get so desperate, they’re willing to sell them.” – Tom Cardamone, President and CEO of Global Financial Integrity (GFI)
The World Health Organization estimates that 10,000 kidneys are traded on the black market annually. Newsweek’s investigation uncovered how traffickers exploit vulnerable people, offering organs from unwilling donors and victims of coercion. Advertisements for organs, like lungs for $10,800 and bone marrow for $1,500, are posted on social media, facilitating transactions through cryptocurrency.
Organ trafficking and cryptocurrency
Organ trafficking operations exploit the anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies and the reach of social media, making it challenging for law enforcement to crack down on these networks.
“Social media is the primary way that criminals offer illicit services. Yes, the Dark Web is used to sell organs, but social media is used to both seek out illicit organs that are being sold and to find buyers.” – Jarrod Sadulski, School of Security and Global Studies at American Military University
The use of coded language and emojis in communication among traffickers further complicates detection and intervention efforts. With an estimated $840 million to $1.7 billion generated annually by the global illegal organ trade, according to Global Financial Integrity, the problem is pervasive yet difficult to address due to limited resources.
“I think proving organ trafficking is really tough as most of the time the victims are not willing to cooperate, and to tackle this problem we need to make organ trafficking illegal – which is much easier to investigate.” – Silvia Tabusca, Human Security Program at the European Center for Legal Education and Research
End organ trafficking
To address organ trafficking, we need stronger regulations on cryptocurrency transactions and increased monitoring of social media platforms.
Raising public awareness about the organ trade’s dangers and ethical issues is crucial. It’s essential to criminalize receiving organ transplants abroad without informed consent or from recklessly obtained sources. Sign our pledge today to demand these changes!
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Organ trafficking definitely requires immediate attention and strong measures to be taken to ask all the countries to make it illegal and pass a strict law to discourage and stop being getting fooled or cheated by the cheaters who are posing as a well wishes to extend some amount of money to lure weak citizens and people in dire need of money.Anyone found guilty both ways should be straight away put behind the bars for breaking the rules . Same media platforms should be use to share frauder too