Pakistan illegal organ trade expands into transnational criminal network

A report indicates that Pakistan’s illegal organ trade has evolved into a transnational criminal network that caters to international demand. Driven by poverty and weak regulatory oversight, these operations involve local facilitators, foreign recipients, cash transactions, and forged medical documentation.

The transnational nature of the trade was highlighted by a recent case in Islamabad involving the alleged export of human placenta to Vietnam. Additionally, instances of transplant tourism have seen foreign patients traveling to Pakistan to obtain organs through unlawful arrangements.

Investigations have linked these networks to organized groups including brokers and medical professionals. In June, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Anti-Corruption Circle arrested two suspected recruiters for allegedly luring economically vulnerable individuals, such as daily-wage laborers, into illegal kidney transplant procedures. One operation in Islamabad reportedly involved a medical team and may have facilitated approximately 187 illegal transplants. The report notes that while arrests occur, there is a lack of “durable suppression” to dismantle the entrenched networks operating through private clinics and poorly regulated facilities.