In the contemporary world of medicine, it is evident that organ transplant has the capacity of saving numerous lives. Nevertheless, there exists a problem due to unavailability of adequate organs to meet the existing demand. The purchase as well as sale of human organs is illegal globally, something that has led to the creation of a human organ black market so as to meet the demand. Organ trade refers to the selling of human organs that are used for transplants. The most commonly traded organs are the kidneys. According to CNN news on June 30, 2014 about how organ traffickers in Nepal steal kidneys, it can be argued that the organ brokers are criminals who should get stiff penalties for their crimes. The illegal organ trade is lucrative as it brings profits that range from $514 million to $1 billion annually (Pokharel, 2014). A crime refers to an illegal act that is evil or wrong and which ought to be punishable by law. The criminality of organ trafficking in Nepal lies in the manner in which the poor and uneducated people are duped into giving away part of themselves. This paper will argue on the criminality of human organ trade on the grounds of the act being evil or wrong.
Human organ traffic is a crime as many poor, and uneducated people are often duped to parting with a piece of their body. According to the June 30, 2014 CNN report, uneducated people are duped that “the meat will grow back.” The case of Nawaraj Pariyar, a poor and uneducated family man is used to expose the evil of human trafficking. Nawaraj Pariyar was duped that a hunk of his meat would be cut and payable by $30,000 (Pokharel, 2014). Nevertheless, he was not told that the chunk of meat was actually his kidney. The question remains, is it morally or legally right to make a person give part of his body by means of lies? To eliminate the criminality of this act, Nawaraj Pariyar should have received informed consent about what he was doing as well as the health risks that were involved. Non-disclosure of such vital information amounts to a criminal act that should be punished by law (Territo & Matteson, 2012, p.15). Furthermore, the traffickers did not pay up the agreed amount to Nawaraj Pariyar as he only received less than 1% of the agreed amount. Are people comfortable with acts like this? Was this fair to Nawaraj Pariyar? It is obvious that no one would like someone else to take advantage of him this way and exploit him. The injustice served to Nawaraj only meets the greedy need of the organ traffickers. According to Scheper-Hughes (2014), this crime in the black market is brought by the fact that demand for human organ outstrips its supply.
Human organs sale is a criminal act globally, even though many medical ethicists argue in favor of legalizing this action so as to address the desperate shortage of organs for the people who are suffering. Most of the organs trafficking are based on the economic condition of the donors, as the poor are often exploited by selling their body organs in the black market (Carney, 2011, p.45). Donors who are poor, as well as desperate need money, are smuggled into countries like India and the U.S. to have their body organs removed with the promise of some form of remuneration. In some cases, human organ trafficking amounts to a crime as it entails violence through the use of both coercion and force, and physical threats. According to the CNN report, the social stigma and threats to victims from traffickers keep them from coming forward.
Human organ trafficking is a crime as it seems to be benefiting some very sick people in need of organ transplants at the expense of others who are less visible or dispensable. The organ traffickers as well use different tactics of persuasion to recruit naive people such as abroad employment. Other people may go for minor surgeries in hospitals such as abdominal surgeries only to have a longer than normal recovery period along with a larger than anticipated scar in their body (BBC, 2015). They only notice later that some part of their body was removed without their consent. This is a serious criminal activity that should be punishable by law.
In conclusion, as this paper has argued, human organ trafficking is a criminal act that is driven by the soaring demand for organs. This has made the middlemen in this black market to use cunning means to lure and exploit unsuspecting poor and uneducated people in giving away their organs. Taking advantage of the poor people’s economic condition, as well as their unawareness, to exploit them is a wrongdoing that amounts to a criminal act. As a result, a legally regulated system should be established so as to curb the purchasing and sale of organs.