A recent study has revealed that criminal sanctions and existing laws concerning organ trafficking in Egypt are “inadequate and harmful,” pushing the trade further underground, reducing the bargaining position of organ sellers and exposing them to greater exploitation. According to the study published by the British Journal of Criminology, the system of punitive justice in Egypt does nothing to address the structural conditions that produce demand for organ markets. The report further clarifies that Cairo has been chosen a key research site for the study due to its reputation as “one of the world’s largest organ bazaars.” “The picture of organ trading in Egypt extends beyond the criminal underworld, with mainstream hospitals conducting transplants using kidneys procured through backstreet deals,” Sean Columb, the report’s author, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Through interviews with organ brokers and sellers in Cairo, the study revealed that the negotiation process usually takes place in an informal setting such as a coffee shop or a restaurant, where the prospective “donor” and the recruiter(s) negotiate the valuation of the organ. The study further pointed out that migrant populations provide a key source of organs for Cairo’s…
Egypt’s Laws Push Organ Trafficking Underground, Increasing Exploitation: Study
September 3, 2016
