Saturday, November 28, 2009
LAHORE: Advances in medical science have enabled modern man to increase his chances of survival in the face of a fatal disease. However, at times, it comes at the cost of other people, especially the poor. Kidney failure is one of disorders, which has provided the haves with an opportunity to exploit the have-nots.
Sometimes, the less privileged sell this vital organ to pay back a loan, marry off a daughter or meet another pressing needs in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan. High inflation and rising poverty in poor countries like Pakistan, Colombia, Egypt and the Philippines force people to sell their organs to fill their bellies and survive. However, the sales of organs earn minor financial gains, especially when we look at greater health hazards. One needs only Rs500,000 for a kidney in Pakistan. Organs, which can be transplanted, are heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine and skin. Tissues include bones, tendons, cornea, heart valves, veins and arms. Worldwide, kidneys are the most common transplanted organs.
Transplantation is a new science, barely 50 years old, and is one of the most challenging and complex areas of modern medicine. Prices of human organs vary from country to country, however, the most disturbing aspect of this trade is that people are sometimes also murdered for their organs. In recent years, Pakistan has become the leading destination for “transplant tourism”. A World Health Organisation (WHO) report has included Pakistan among top five organ-trafficking hotspots besides China, Colombia, Egypt and the Philippines. Pakistan Kidney Foundation Chief Executive Jaffar Naqvi said there were 13 centres in Lahore alone, which performed more than 2,000 transplants last year from bought kidneys. Patients, mostly from Europe and Saudi Arabia paid about Rs500,000 for a new kidney, he said. Donors often get no medical care after the surgery, which has higher rates of viral infection. Even World Health Assembly (WHA) concern over transplant tourism and the sale of tissues and organs, including attention to the wider problem of international trafficking in human tissues and organs has failed to achieve restraint.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
