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Organ Trafficking: Why Do Healthcare Workers Engage in It?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

Trevor Stammers Open the ORCID record for Trevor Stammers [Opens in a new window]
Trevor Stammers*
Affiliation:
Independent Scholar, London, UK
*
Corresponding author. Email: tgstammers@doctors.org.uk
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Abstract

Organ trafficking in all its various forms is an international crime which could be entirely eliminated if healthcare professionals refused to participate in or be complicit with it. Types of organ trafficking are defined and principal international declarations and resolutions concerning it are discussed. The evidence for the involvement of healthcare professionals is illustrated with examples from South Africa and China. The ways in which healthcare professionals directly or indirectly perpetuate illegal organ transplantation are then considered, including lack of awareness, the paucity of both undergraduate and postgraduate education on organ trafficking, turning a blind eye, advocacy of organ commercialism, and the lure of financial gain.

Keywords

organ traffickinghuman traffickingorgan transplantationorgan salesorganized crimemedical complicity
Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , July 2022 , pp. 368 - 378
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

Notes

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