Organ-trafficking
laws in key countries
Christian Science Monitor, Compiled
by Sheera Frenkel
June 09, 2004
Brazil
A 1997 law makes it illegal to sell organs and tissue and
forbids anyone from soliciting them. Punishment includes
three to eight years in prison and a fine equal to as much
as 360 days of minimum wage. In 1998, Brazil passed a law
making every Brazilian adult an organ donor at death, except
in case of special exemption. But "presumed consent"
was decried by critics and was subsequently amended a year
later to require the consent of relatives. In the 1990s,
Brazilian newspapers reported that prisoners were granted
furloughs to donate their organs.
Israel
While
it is now against health ministry regulations to buy and sell
organs, one bill pending in the Knesset would make it a felony.
If it passes, brokers could be fined and receive up to three
years in prison, though recipients and donors would not be
prosecuted. Another proposal would make it legal to reimburse
a kidney donor for healthcare costs.
South
Africa
The
Human Tissue Act of 1983 says that no one can receive payment
for the transfer of any tissue, including flesh, bone, organ,
or body fluid. Violators are subject to a maximum fine of
$300 or imprisonment of no more than one year. But a loophole
grants a hospital's medical director and pathologist the right
to remove tissues and organs without consent, when the identity
of the deceased person is initially unknown and relatives
have not come forward to claim the body within the period
when organ retrieval is medically feasible.
United
States
President
Bush signed the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act
on April 5. While it is still illegal to sell or pay for organs,
the act authorizes the federal government to reimburse living
donors for expenses and to offer project grants aimed at increasing
donations and improving organ preservation and compatibility.
And this year, Wisconsin became the first state to give living
donors a tax deduction of up to $10,000 for medical costs,
travel, and lost salary.
Iran
Kidney
sales are legal and regulated. The trade is organized and
controlled by two nongovernmental organizations - the Charity
Association for the Support of Kidney Patients (CASKP) and
the Charity Foundation for Special Diseases (CFSD) - both
endorsed by the government. The CASKP connects potential recipients
and donors, and organizes tests to ensure compatibility. Recipients
often offer donors employment or extra money after the transplant.
India
The
Indian government tried to stop illegal organ transplants
with a 1994 law that criminalizes organ sales but allows for
"unrelated kidney sales," a loophole that has led
to corruption. Nonprofit organizations in the area claim the
trade is rising now that it has gone underground.
China
It's
illegal to buy or sell organs in China. But a 1984 law allows
organs to be transplanted from an executed prisoner if family
members don't claim the body right away. Amnesty International
says Chinese media reported 1,060 judicial executions in 2002.
But it says the actual figure may be as high as 15,000. Most
harvested prisoner organs are sold to medical "visitors"
from Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Singapore.
Britain
A
British woman may be the first citizen to face prosecution
under the country's Human Organ Transplants Act of 1989, which
prohibits the sale or solicitation of any organ within the
country. Last month, to pay off her legal debts, the woman
closed a deal over the Internet to sell her kidney for $50,000
to an American.
Sources:
Organs Watch; US Congress and State Department; British, Brazilian,
Indian, and Israeli newspapers; Associated Press
