Fri Jul 04 06:27:46 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
A booming black market for kidneys is thriving between Bangladesh and India, fueled by extreme poverty in Bangladesh and the demand for transplants in India. Brokers exploit the desperation of impoverished Bangladeshis, luring them with false promises of wealth to sell their kidneys in India. These brokers use forged documents to bypass Indian regulations requiring organ donations to be between close relatives or with special government approval. Donors are often cheated out of the promised money and left with lasting health problems and no follow-up care. The problem is exacerbated by a lack of legal donors, slow approval processes, and a willingness by wealthy patients to pay for quick transplants. Law enforcement efforts are sporadic and insufficient to curb the trade, while some hospitals and doctors are complicit in the illegal activity, driven by financial incentives and a lack of scrutiny. Experts say authorities are facing competing pressures – upholding the law, but also promoting medical tourism.
**News Article:**
**Desperation and Deceit: Kidney Trafficking Thrives Between Bangladesh and India**
**Joypurhat/Dhaka, Bangladesh, and New Delhi/Kolkata, India** – A shadow industry is flourishing along the Bangladesh-India border: illegal kidney trafficking. Desperate poverty in Bangladesh, coupled with the surging demand for transplants in India, creates a lucrative market for brokers who exploit the vulnerable.
Safiruddin, a 45-year-old from Bangladesh, is one of countless victims. Promised a better life for his family, he sold his kidney in India for a meager sum that quickly disappeared, leaving him with chronic pain and an unfinished house. “I gave my kidney so my family could have a better life,” he said, reflecting the desperation that drives many to make such a choice.
These trafficking networks lure impoverished Bangladeshis with promises of quick riches, transporting them to India under false pretenses and using forged documents to circumvent Indian laws that restrict organ donations to close relatives or with special government approval. These laws are designed to prevent the commercial exploitation of people.
“Typically, the seller’s name is changed, and a notary certificate – stamped by a lawyer – is produced to falsely establish a familial relationship with the recipient,” explains Professor Monir Moniruzzaman, an expert on organ trafficking.
The demand for kidneys in India far outstrips the supply of legal donors. The brokers often confiscate passports and medical prescriptions after the surgery, erasing any trail of the transplant and leaving donors without proof of the procedure or access to follow-up care.
Investigations reveal that some medical professionals and hospitals are complicit, turning a blind eye to fraudulent documents in exchange for financial gain. The high cost of transplants – recipients may pay as much as $26,000 – creates a strong incentive for this illicit activity.
While authorities in both countries have made some arrests, experts say these efforts are insufficient. Corruption and a focus on promoting medical tourism in India hinder effective enforcement. Victims are often left with shattered dreams, ruined health, and a sense of betrayal. One broker noted, “No one willingly gives a kidney out of hobby or desire. It is a simple calculation: desperation leads to this.”
Vasundhara Raghavan, CEO of the Kidney Warriors Foundation, said that a shortage of legal donors was a “major challenge” that drove the demand for trafficked organs and that the law had only pushed organ trade underground.“If organ trade cannot be entirely eliminated, a more systematic and regulated approach should be considered.”
First Piper 