Selling your organs to survive. The revelations of the Cnn in an investigation in Myanmar which required a year of investigation: from the outbreak of the civil war and due to the dramatic living conditions, a real crisis has developed in the country illegal organ trade. The sellers are people who live below the poverty line, in desperate conditions. The buyers, on the other hand, are the wealthiest citizens. Myanmar is experiencing a devastating political and social crisis since the military seized power in a coup three years ago.
Desperate conditions – The Cnn he discovered some post online who were offering organs on at least three Facebook groups where, in theory, the rules do not allow the trading of human body parts. The posts were written in Burmese, the journalists tracked down and spoke with dozens of people involved in illegal trade to reconstruct the mechanisms of what appears to be a real illicit industry fueled by the civil war. Since the coup, nearly half of the 54 million of people living in Myanmar live below the poverty line, a figure that – according to researchers at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – has doubled since 2017.
“Selling a part of your body is a difficult decision for everyone. Nobody wants to do it“, dice April, 26 years oldwho asked to use a pseudonym shortly after advertising his kidney on Facebook in February. “The only reason I do this is because I have no choice“, she adds. The girl said she had abandoned her dream of becoming a nurse and moved to Yangon when she was 18 to work in a garment factory and help her family. But her monthly salary of 100 dollars is not enough, also because her aunt has cancer. “I’m doing my best to survive in a difficult situation. There were days when I cried. There were days when I had nothing to eat and my friends couldn’t help me,” she tells Cnn. “One night, unable to sleep, on Facebook saw a group where people were offering to sell their kidneys.” The young woman immediately wrote a post: “I want to donate my kidney. My blood type is 0. I need money for my aunt who has cancer and needs surgery. I am 26 and I don’t drink. Send me a private message”.
Transplants in India – While several armed groups fight for control of the junta, the violence is spreading Across the country, foreign investment has dropped dramatically and the unemployment is skyrocketing. As if that were not enough, the price of basic necessities is increasing at a rate that the inhabitants they can no longer sustain. This picture of despair includes buyers too of the illegal market of organs, which are relatively well-off, but who nevertheless approach this type of trade because they too are in conditions of very great difficulty.
Sellers and buyers often rely on agents who organize the transplants, put the two parties in contact and, above all, falsify documents necessary for operationsThe interventions take place in Indiawhere organ trade (as in Myanmar) is illegal. Donations in India are also strictly regulated and only permitted in certain cases, between relatives and blood relativeswhich is why the agents also deal with falsify family recordsfamily trees and other documents with the help of lawyers and notaries.
The Cnn contacted the Myanmar embassy in New Delhi and the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for comment, but did not receive a response. The broadcaster also sought comment from Metaowner of Facebook, who said he had removed from the social platform an online group. The company, however, She refused to offer further details or comments, even though Facebook rules strictly prohibit this type of activity.
