Organ Trafficking Research Articles

Reforming Criminal Responsibility for Illegal Trafficking in Human Anatomical Materials in the Context of the European Integration of Ukraine

Transplant tourism is a negative consequence of the globalization of society. Trafficking in human organs has reached all countries and threatens their security. This international problem requires a response from states, their legislative institutions and international organizations. The purpose of this article is a comprehensive study and systematization of the norms of international law and national legislation, which determine the legal regime of the circulation of human anatomical materials, as well as the identification of shortcomings in the criminal-legal protection of the field of transplantology in Ukraine and the search for ways to improve domestic criminal legislation in the context of the European integration of our country. Various research methods were used to achieve this goal. In particular, the elements and features of the composition of criminal offenses of the current legislation and the relevant novels were analysed using the dialectical method of cognition. Thanks to the use of the historical method, a number of international legal acts have been established that prohibit the trade in human organs. The dogmatic method made it possible to reveal the actual content of legal norms that regulate the circulation of human anatomical materials. The system-structural method was used during the study of normative legal acts of a universal, regional and national nature. Using the comparative legal method, norms of international law and national legislation of Ukraine in the field of transplantology were compared. The paper proves that the most important international legal standard dedicated to the fight against the illegal circulation of human anatomical materials is the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Organs, which provides for criminal law prohibitions that must be implemented by the participating states in their national legislation. All conventional prohibitions are combined into four related groups and compared with criminal offenses provided for by the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Novels of the draft criminal law, which provide for responsibility for illegal transplantation, trafficking in human organs and other illegal circulation of human anatomical materials, were also studied. A comprehensive analysis of the legal regime in the field of transplantology gave grounds for the conclusion of the need to ratify the Council of Europe Convention against trafficking in human organs on the way to the European integration of Ukraine. The research also established that some conventional prohibitions in the field of transplantology are at the same time types of corruption offenses, which are provided for in the current Criminal Code. This indicates the further need for a detailed analysis of such norms, establishing their features, interrelationship and correlation with the relevant provisions of the legislation of Ukraine.

Hyperactive immature state and differential CXCR2 expression of neutrophils in severe COVID-19.

Neutrophils are vital in defence against pathogens, but excessive neutrophil activity can lead to tissue damage and promote acute respiratory distress syndrome. COVID-19 is associated with systemic expansion of immature neutrophils, but the functional consequences of this shift to immaturity are not understood. We used flow cytometry to investigate activity and phenotypic diversity of circulating neutrophils in acute and convalescent COVID-19 patients. First, we demonstrate hyperactivation of immature CD10- subpopulations in severe disease, with elevated markers of secondary granule release. Partially activated immature neutrophils were detectable 12 wk post-hospitalisation, indicating long term myeloid dysregulation in convalescent COVID-19 patients. Second, we demonstrate that neutrophils from moderately ill patients down-regulate the chemokine receptor CXCR2, whereas neutrophils from severely ill individuals fail to do so, suggesting an altered ability for organ trafficking and a potential mechanism for induction of disease tolerance. CD10- and CXCR2hi neutrophil subpopulations were enriched in severe disease and may represent prognostic biomarkers for the identification of individuals at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19.

Group decision‐making analysis based on distance measures under rough environment

AbstractA rough set as a superset of a crisp set is a mathematical tool to cope with uncertainty using initial data without additional assumptions and pre‐defined parameters. Using the technique of upper and lower approximations, rough models provide a complete description of the problem. This paper aims to introduce the notion of distance function, which is a metric, in rough graphs. We establish formulae of distance function, degree and radius of certain products of rough graphs in terms of initial given rough graphs. We discuss the concepts of weak isomorphism and isomorphism in rough graphs, and describe the properties of isomorphic rough graphs. We demonstrate the significance and importance of the distance function with an application to a decision making problem concerning organ trafficking networks. An application of rough matrices in steam valve systems is discussed, and we show how they can help to identify the potential failures and risk components during the power generation process. The results obtained under the rough model are compared with existing extensions of graphs and fuzzy based approaches.

The Social Construction of Moral Perceptions and Public Policies Concerning Organ Trafficking in Israel1,2

This article examines the sociocultural construction of the local moralities, practices, and public policies regarding the purchase, sale, and brokering of organs. Based on ethnographic study of the case of Israel, where the prevailing moral perceptions and public policies have been relatively tolerant toward the purchase and sale of organs, the article proposes a model of four main sources of justification underlying these perceptions and policies: (1) Deeply held religious views on ethics, social relations, and the body. (2) Philosophical approaches to moral dilemmas, particularly deontological versus utilitarian approaches. (3) The human rights discourse in its transnational, as well as localized, versions, and (4) socioeconomic worldviews such as liberalism, neoliberalism, and conceptions of individual autonomy. Each of these four discourses is weighted differently, depending on the context, and interacts with the other discourses. This process shapes the way in which international ethical norms are implemented, rejected, or adapted and translated into local meanings and institutions. The article offers a multi‐faceted explication of why translation occurs, especially in the framework of international human rights norms related to health and medicine, which have not been adequately addressed in prior research. The findings contribute to explaining how “ethical variability” is formed in practice.

О необходимости правовой охраны интересов «киборг-людей» от причинения вреда юридическими лицами

Introduction: the revolutionary breakthrough, new achievements in neuroscience, technology, allowing medical science to return to people lost limbs, organs and their functions, should be recognized as positive. In fact, there is a merger of computers, complex machines with humans. In addition to the advantages, such a symbiosis often creates certain legal and organizational problems in practice, due to what the author set out to study the problem of protecting the rights of “cyborg people” from intentional or careless acts of the legal entities, those who manufactured, monitor and support implants during their operation. Methods: traditional – a set of methods of systematicity, comparative analysis and the formal legal method. Results: the paper substantiates the author’s position, which is based on the analysis of the international and foreign legislation and the opinion of the competent scientific community on the need to develop in the domestic legislation a mechanism of responsibility for legal entities, in case of serious consequences caused by their actions or inaction to persons with high-tech changes in the body. Conclusions: it is concluded that Russia needs to join such international instruments as the Declaration of Istanbul on Transplant Tourism and Organ Trafficking, the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine on the Transplantation of Organs and Tissues of Human Origin (ETS no. 186) and other instruments, adopt a Federal Law on the Donation of Organs, Parts of Human Organs and their Transplantation, where to pay attention to the protection of the rights of “cyborg people”.

The organization of the human organ trade: a comparative crime script analysis

This study fills critical knowledge gaps into the organization of organ trade utilizing crime script analysis. Adopting a situational crime prevention approach, this article draws from law enforcement data to compare the crime commission process (activities, cast and locations) of 2 prosecuted organ trade cases: the Medicus case and the Netcare case. Both cases involved transnational criminal networks that performed kidney transplants from living donors. We further present similarities and differences between illegal and legal living donor kidney transplants that may help guide identification and disruption of illegal transplants. Our analysis reveal the similar crime trajectories of both criminal cases, in particular the extensive preparations and high degree of organization that were needed to execute the illegal transplants. Offenders in the illegal transplant schemes utilized the same opportunity structures that facilitate legal transplants, such as transplant units, hospitals and blood banks. Our results indicate that the trade is embedded within the transplant industry and intersects with the transport- and hospitality sector. The transplant industry in the studied cases was particularly found to provide the medical infrastructure needed to facilitate and sustain organ trade. When compared to legal transplants, the studied illegal transplant scripts reveal a wider diversity in recruitment tactics and concealment strategies and a higher diversity in locations for the pre-operative work-up of donors and recipients. The results suggest the need for a broader conceptualization of the organ trade that incorporates both organized crime and white collar crime perspectives.

"Creating Blue Skies Overhead for All" Introduction of the 2022 Recipient of the Medawar Prize of the Transplantation Society: Professor Jeremy Chapman.

"Creating Blue Skies Overhead for All" Introduction of the 2022 Recipient of the Medawar Prize of the Transplantation Society: Professor Jeremy Chapman.

Donatio organorum- reluctance to organ donation medical students; a cross-sectional descriptive study

Organ donation is the act of removing an organ or tissue from a donor and transplanting the said organ/tissue to a recipient. Despite being the only definitive treatment for end-organ failure, there is a lot of hesitation surrounding the practice of organ donation. Even among medical students, who are more aware of the benefits of organ donation than the general public, this reluctance is widespread.Therefore, we conducted this research to determine the basis of this skepticism, so that the root causes can be identified and eradicated. Our research sought to ascertain the overall attitudes of Rawalpindi Medical University, Pakistan's students towards organ donation, the associated factors that influenced this attitude (religious devotion, gender, age, year of study) and the reasons for the hesitance. A cross-sectional study targeting the students of first to final year MBBS was conducted at Rawalpindi Medical University, Pakistan in the year 2022. The sample size was calculated using OpenEpi software, and came out to be 292. The students enrolled at Rawalpindi Medical University during the year 2021-2022 were made a part of the study. A self-structured questionnaire that was developed after substantial research was used to collect the data using a non-random convenience sample technique. Chi Square test was used to determine significance after data analysis using SPSS-22. A total of 290 students participated in the study, 58 from each year. All of the participants were Muslim. A very strong correlation was found between high devoutness and willingness towards organ donation (p=7.4252E-13). Only 9/290 (3%) of people in Pakistan have joined The Transplantation Society of Pakistan; the main cause of this low ratio is that very few people were aware that such a group even existed (according to 62% of the responders). The mistrust of doctors and the belief that appropriate efforts would not be done to resuscitate patients who have signed up for organ donation is a significant factor in the anxiety surrounding organ donation. There are several reasons why people are reluctant to donate their organs, including a lack of understanding of religious perspectives on the subject, mistrust of medical professionals and medical administration, and general public ignorance. We can make a significant progress toward closing the gap between the demand for and supply of organ donations if these problems are remedied. The most effective strategy to stop organ trafficking is through organ donation. Through seminars, conversations, and workshops, we need to raise awareness about organ donation.

Characteristics and Perspectives of Human Trafficking Education: A Survey of U.S. Medical School Administrators and Students.

Objective: To assess the timing, duration, methodology, and content of human trafficking (HT) curricula in U.S. medical schools. Methods: An anonymous, cross-sectional survey was sent through email and phone to administrators of 199 U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. A supplementary survey was sent to students and faculty through email listservs and social media links. Data collection occurred from April to October 2020 and findings were analyzed through SAS software. All study measures were approved by the institutional review board. Results: Administrators were from 22 states and 34 schools (n = 51/199 schools; response rate: 25.6%) and n = 41 responded to all questions. Of these, 32% (13/41) self-identified as deans, 34.1% (14/41) as faculty, and 29.3% (12/41) as other administrators. Less than half (41.5%, n = 17/41) reported an HT curriculum. There was a wide range in length (average = 3 hours) and when present was almost always mandatory (n = 51, 88.2%). Few curricula mentioned labor (23.5%) or organ (5.9%) trafficking, or at-risk populations such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) members (13.7%), foreign nationals (7.8%), victims of political conflict (3.9%), and indigenous peoples (2.0%). Students and staff (n = 242) were from 34 states and 83 schools, and n = 36 (27.5%) reported a curriculum. Less than half (44.4%) felt the length (average 4.1 hours) was sufficient. Conclusions: Less than half of respondents reported an HT curriculum. It is unclear how well this curriculum prepares students to treat victim-survivors of HT. Future work is necessary to incorporate effective education on HT for trainees and evaluate patient outcomes after curricular implementation.

Fenomena Kejahatan Perdagangan Manusia

The crime of trafficking in persons is a very serious global issue, because many actors are interrelated, both as countries of origin, as well as countries of destination as well as transit countries. Therefore, various efforts must be made in combating this crime of human trafficking and must also involve many parties including the government, law enforcement, civil society, media, migrant workers, as well as transit and destination countries. The obstacle faced by Indonesian law enforcement is due to the lack of reports from victims of this human trafficking crime because they are already in other countries. The purpose of this article is to analyze and describe the effectiveness of Law Number 21 of 2007 concerning Eradication of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons and the Effectiveness of Law Number 36 of 2009 concerning Health Regulating the Prohibition of Trafficking in Human Organs. The method used is descriptive qualitative. The results of this study (1) Implementation of Law no. 21 of 2007 concerning the Eradication of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons is deemed ineffective if it does not involve many countries, because there is still a lot of human trafficking, especially women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation as commercial sex workers and exploitation of pornography (2) Law Number 36 Year 2009 concerning Health, especially in Article 92 which mentions the Functionalization of Criminal Law Against Acts, namely "Everyone who deliberately trades organs or body tissues under any pretext as referred to in Article 64 paragraph (3) shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 10 (ten) years. and a maximum fine of Rp. 1,000,000,000.00 (one billion rupiah)''.

The emerging role of health care forensics in medical education: ethical, legal and educational challenges in identifying and providing patient-centered care for victims of child abuse and human trafficking

The advents of child abuse and human trafficking in their various forms represent a serious crime and affects virtually every country in the world, where they not only represent an issue of the violation of the basic human rights and dignity of those persons affected but also impacts their families and loved ones who may be inadvertently left behind. While most instances of human trafficking have traditionally involved humans being coercively forced to enter into areas of sex and labor violations, the emerging area of illegal organ trafficking to support a growing need for organ transplantation procedures can now be included. While children and younger adults are the most commonly affected segments of the population for some categories of trafficking, globally human trafficking may impact victims of diverse backgrounds of any age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, or persuasion, and may present in the clinic accompanied or unaccompanied for urgent care. When presenting, a patient may exhibit cardinal signs, symptoms and clinical stigmata that may be of a suspicious nature and be indicative of further investigation to include reporting the issues to competent authorities especially when the victim is an infant or considered a minor, less than 18 years of age in most countries. Since the health care professional is often in a position to become the first point of contact where symptoms and stigmata of human trafficking, child abuse, and other signs indicative of abuse are apparent, additional modules in health care forensics would be a welcome addition to medical curricula and public health perspectives for physicians and other members of the healthcare team. Thus, the purpose of the present paper was to review the characteristics of human trafficking and abuse, to summarize key areas of legal, medical, and administrative responsibility in order to ensure availability of optimal and appropriate patient-centered care of victims, and to emphasize the need for inclusion of modules in forensic medical education in medical curricula.

Organ transplantation in Nepal: Ethical, legal, and practical issues.

In Nepal, live donor organ transplantation is only 14 years old with the first successful kidney transplant made in 2008 and a successful liver and bone marrow transplant made in 2016. However, transplantation of cadaveric cornea dates back to 1998. There are still no cases of animal-to-human organ transplantation in Nepal. There are stringent laws to regulate human body organ transplantation in Nepal which are amended from time to time. However, there is a racket of human traffickers who lure rural people from this low-income country into the illegal organ trade. Furthermore, there is a substantial lack of awareness of organ donation among the general public. This article focuses on the stipulations of ethical, legal, and practical issues of obtaining organs procured from living and brain-dead donors that support the process of transplantation in Nepal. In addition, the article also explores the legal and practical issues of organ trafficking and organ donation awareness in Nepal on the basis of factual data and findings from other studies.

Donation after circulatory death in Turkey and the Middle East: Current status

Tissue and organ transplantation is the best treatment option for end-stage organ failure. However, organ shortage still remains to be the greatest challenge facing the field of organ transplantation. Millions of people die and are buried with healthy organs, which could save the lives of many patients who continue to wait on transplant lists. Countries must aim to work towards a system of matching organs as much as possible with the deceased donation to meet the growing demand for organs. This action will not only result in the reduction of organ trafficking activities but shall also make an enormous difference to those patients awaiting transplants where living organ donors are not an option.Donation after circulator death (DCD) has gained much attention over the last decade as one of the accepted practices in order to expand the donor pool. DCD donation takes place after declaration of death using cardio-respiratory criteria in contrast to donation after brain death (DBD) where neurological criteria are used. Although DCD remains a focus of interest and contributes to donor numbers in many countries, it also poses many challenges medically, ethically and legally. Unfortunately, controlled DCD is not really in practice in Turkey and the Middle East.Therefore, the purpose of this review is to provide an overview of current status of DCD in Turkey and the Middle East and to identify associated concerns medically and ethically.

Status of India in Global Organic Production and Export

The present study was envisaged to examine the status of India in global organic production and to have an overview of the regional spread of India's organic production and export thereof. This study spanning the period 2012-13 to 2018-19, was based on secondary data extracted from various issues of the assessment reports of the programs/organizations overseeing the activities related to organic farming at the global and country level. The study highlighted that India's organic area increased nearly four-fold from 0.5 million ha in 2012 to 1.96 million ha by 2018 and accounted for 30 per cent of the organic area in Asia and nearly three per cent of the global organic area. India's organic production had doubled (2.6 million MT) by 2018-19 from 1.3 million MT in 2012-13. Nearly 90 per cent of organic production came from seven major organic states (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Gujarat) in the country. The organic exports to the tune of 6.14 lakh MT from India translated into a realization of 5151 crore in the fiscal ending 2019, up from 1156 crores in 2012-13. The findings of the study point towards the ample scope for propagating organic agriculture, given the large land base in the country. The competitive strength of the states in producing organic crops highlighted by the study can well be exploited to make the most of the opportunities thrown open by the ever-increasing organic trade.

Child Trafficking in India and Procedures for Prevention and Protection of Children’s Rights: An Analysis

The present study on the research topic is done to find out the menace of child trafficking, its extent and how we can combat it by effectively enforcing the existing laws in India. The main reason of child trafficking, extent, area, historical background, national and international legal framework, existing laws, schemes and tradition in India to know the effectiveness or drawbacks regarding child trafficking in India have been studied. It has been observed that there is lack of effective implementation of the already existing laws and of awareness among the people about their rights. As a result the society shows indifference towards the problems of child trafficking for begging, child prostitution, child labour, organ trade, drug trafficking and smuggling.

Harvesting vulnerability: The challenges of organ trafficking in armed conflict

AbstractArmed conflicts leave populations vulnerable to organ trafficking, a criminal enterprise with little international regulation when viewed separately from human trafficking. The Council of Europe's Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs is the only instrument to contemplate the responsibility of actors involved in organ trafficking, but traffickers may go unpunished due to its limited scope. Yet in armed conflict, international humanitarian law offers additional protection. The rules protecting the living and the dead against ill-treatment provide the basic level of protection necessary to consider the international responsibility of organ trafficking networks and the individual criminal responsibility of their members.

233.3: Organ Trafficking: The Portuguese Experience in Developing A Legal Framework and a Protocol of Conduct for Health Professionals for the Management of Patients Who Receive an Organ Transplant Abroad and Return Home for Follow-up Care and for Reporting Suspected Cases to Law Enforcement Authorities for Criminal Investigation

The existence of a world-wide illicit trade in human organs for the purposes of transplantation is a well-established fact, and various means have been adopted to combat this criminal activity, in particular the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs. This Convention is the first international legal instrument that criminalizes all illicit transplant practices. Healthcare professionals who treat patients in pre transplant and post-transplant play a crucial role in prevention, detection and reporting organ trafficking. However, healthcare professionals face with medical, legal, and ethical challenges when confronted with suspected or confirmed cases of organ trafficking due to their duty to preserve medical confidentiality. We present the recently developed Portuguese Model for the implementation of the Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs. Firstly, we present the changes introduced in Portuguese criminal law for the criminalisation of organ trafficking, including the options made with respect to donors and recipients regarding their criminalisation or not, and the solutions adopted to ensure that acts committed outside the country by nationals or residents can also be punished. Secondly, we present a protocol/code of conduct to provide an appropriate framework to prevent and address transplant-related crimes for healthcare professionals. Such protocol provide guidelines for the management of patients, including on how to ensure traceability and biovigilance for patients who travel for transplantation, and indicators for the identification of signs of organ trafficking and/or human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal. Third, we introduce the Portuguese reporting mechanism for the communication of information about such cases to law enforcement authorities for the purposes of criminal investigation. Finally, we present the amendments made to the Medical Code of Ethics to address doctors’ concerns regarding medical confidentiality. The new regulation provide an exception to the duty of medical secrecy in relation organ trafficking and human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal.

400.1: The “Global Kidney Exchange” Proposal Is Impractical And Not Financially Neutral

This paper argues that, notwithstanding some recent claims by moral philosophers, the proposed Global Kidney Exchange (GKE) should be rejected as impractical and not ethical, as it does not accord with the principles of intergovernmental bodies (such as the World Health Organization) and professional societies (such as The Transplantation Society and the Declaration of Istanbul), and would violate national laws that forbid organ trafficking and that require financial neutrality in organ donation. Under the proposal, a kidney patient in a high-income country (HIC) who is biologically incompatible with his or her donor would be matched with a prospective donor from a low/medium-income country (LMIC) who is willing to donate to a patient there who cannot get a transplant for lack of the necessary funding or facilities. The GKE would bring the LMIC pair to the HIC, coordinate the two transplant operations (LMIC donor to HIC recipient and vice versa), and fund a US$50,000 escrow account for follow-up care of the LMIC pair, including the recipient’s post-transplant immunosuppression. A normal “kidney swap” meets ethical and legal requirements because only organs are exchanged, whereas in the GKE an LMIC patient who can supply a donor who meets the GKE’s requirements will receive not only a kidney but substantial financial benefits. Since the exchange is not financially neutral, the Council of Europe has rejected the GKE as a form of “organ trafficking” and an exploitation of financial inequality.In response, recent defenders of the GKE have made several arguments. First among these is the claim that saving recipients’ lives outweighs all the objections raised to the program. This proves too much, as it would justify all organ sales (including from poorer to richer countries) if lives are saved. Nor can the GKE be defended on grounds of autonomy, when the terms are entirely set by the GKE; the preferences of the LMIC donor, who might prefer something else in exchange—perhaps something that might make the commercial nature of the transaction more apparent—are ignored. Besides being unethical, the proposal is impractical. Some patients from LMICs will respond to the possibility of an organ transplant by recruiting paid donors and disguising them as an altruistic friend or relative, a ruse that experience shows transplant programs in HIC often fail to detect. Moreover, the assumption that financial inducements will yield a net increase in organs is contradicted by experience: donation rates are much higher in countries such as Spain and the US than in countries where payments occur such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.Finally, the GKE does not provide, as the philosophers claim, “an eminently fair solution” to the inequities that face LMIC patients, who would be better served if HIC organizations helped LMICs develop appropriate programs to prevent and treat kidney failure, including deceased donor programs.

Reappraising Effective Regulation in Preventing Human Organs Trafficking in Africa: Kenya and Nigeria in Perspective

Over the years, the issue of illegal human organ harvesting and trafficking has been an international concern. There have been so many stories of victims being promised better opportunies overseas but ended up being untraceable all over the world. The news that most of these people seeking greener pastures abroad must have fallen victim to the illegal international human harvesting and trafficking syndicates is quite alarming. The government of the countries, their citizens to be wary of the "too sweet to be true" job opportunities abroad and a better life abroad. United Nations' concern on this issue brought about the resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its 73rd session held on 17 December2018 on strengthening and promoting effective measures and international cooperation on organ donation and transplantation to prevent and combat trafficking in person persons for organ removal and trafficking in human organs. This article examines the law relating to organ harvesting and trafficking in Nigeria and Kenya putting into consideration the United Nations resolution. The article observes that Nigeria with its Trafficking in Person (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act 2015 and Kenya with the Counter-Trafficking In Persons Act No. 8 of 2010 are yet to adopt the United Nations General Assembly resolution on strengthening and promoting effective measures and international cooperation on organ donation and transplanation to prevent and combat trafficking in persons for organ removal and trafficking in human organs. The article recommends total conformity with theUN resolution.

How a compensated kidney donation program facilitates the sale of human organs in a regulated market: the implications of Islam on organ donation and sale

BackgroundAdvocates for a regulated system to facilitate kidney donation between unrelated donor-recipient pairs argue that monetary compensation encourages people to donate vital organs that save the lives of patients with end-stage organ failure. Scholars support compensating donors as a form of reciprocity. This study aims to assess the compensation system for the unrelated kidney donation program in the Islamic Republic of Iran, with a particular focus on the implications of Islam on organ donation and organ sales.MethodsThis study reviews secondary documents for philosophical argumentation and ethical analysis of human organ donation and sale for transplantation.Results and discussionAccording to Islamic law, organ donation is an act of sadaqatul jariyah, and individuals are permitted to donate organs with the intention of saving lives. The commercialization of humans as organ sellers and buyers is contrary to the Islamic legal maxim eethaar, undermining donors of ‘selfless’ or ‘altruistic’ motivations. Such an act should be considered immoral, and the practice should not be introduced into other countries for the sake of protecting human dignity, integrity, solidarity, and respect. I, therefore, argue that Iran’s unrelated kidney donation program not only disregards the position of the Islamic religion with respect to the provision or receipt of monetary benefits for human kidneys for transplantation but that it also misinterprets the Islamic legal proscription of the sale of human organs. I also argue that the implementation of Iran’s unrelated kidney donor transplantation program is unethical and immoral in that potential donors and recipients engage in a bargaining process akin to that which sellers and buyers regularly face in regulated commodity exchange markets. Conversely, I suggest that a modest fixed monetary remuneration as a gift be provided to a donor as a reward for their altruistic organ donation, which is permissible by Islamic scholars. This may remove the need to bargain for increased or decreased values of payment in exchange for the organ, as well as the transactional nature of ‘buyer and seller’, ensuring the philosophy of ‘donor and recipient’ is maintained.ConclusionsOffering a fixed modest monetary incentive to organ donors would serve to increase organ supply while protecting donors’ health and reducing human suffering without legalizing the human organ trade.