Letters to the Editor
Selling kidneys online should be stopped
Wednesday, 20 July 2022
According to the Transplant of Human Organ Act (amendment) 2018, a patient can obtain a kidney either from a 'near relative' or from a brain-dead patient, whose kin would agree to this. Around 5,000 kidney transplants are reportedly needed in Bangladesh every year. Understandably, it is not possible to meet the demand for kidney through the near relatives. A study finds out that not even 500 kidneys are transplanted annually in our hospitals. Those who can afford are transplanting kidney abroad, especially in India.
However, it is quite surprising that an illegal kidney market has recently developed on social media platform, Facebook. It is learned that some 200-250 Facebook groups have been opened to run this fraudulent business. The sellers and buyers in these groups bargain over the price of a kidney. Some 800,000 to 1.0 million people are active members of these groups. This figure is a proof of the massive the number of people affiliated with this illegal business. Despite knowing this, neither the law enforcement agencies, nor the health ministry has taken any action yet to stop the illegal selling of kidneys on Facebook. Many people have become victims of fraud. A clear legal framework should be formed urgently to stop this anarchy in kidney transplantation.
Ashikujaman Syed,
Research Assistant,
Bioinformatics Research Lab,
Center for Research Innovation and Development (CRID),
syedashikujaman@yahoo.com