GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE
ORGAN TRAFFICKING
INDUSTRY
PROTOCOL-MAGAZINE
Organ donation is a much needed act of kindness made
from people who have agreed to donate after their life has
come to an end, or by the living- donating parts of their
regenerative organs. The total number of organ transplants
carried out in the period between April 2011 and March
2012 was 3,953 –an improvement upon the 3,725
transplants recorded in 2010/11. This represents an increase
of 22.2% above the 2007/08 baseline. However, despite
these achievements, over 10,000 people are in need of an
organ transplant in the United Kingdom and the number is
increasing. The United Kingdom is not the only country with
an increasing need for organ transplants. With the
worldwide increase in demand for organs, illegal organ
trafficking has become a vast and profitable industry.
The problem of organ trafficking has been prevalent since
the medical organ transplant was introduced to the world.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that ‘more
than one human organ is sold in every one hour’, in 2010. It
is considered to be a s х