Philippine health chief approves order to eradicate black market in kidneys

[Robbien]

Source: AP

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine health secretary has signed an order aimed at eradicating a thriving black market in kidney sales by people desperate to do anything to ease the crush of poverty.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said Wednesday the order, which he signed two days earlier, called for creation of a government board to oversee kidney donations and transplants, ensure proper care of donors and make more transparent and ethical a disturbing practice that has flourished in secrecy.
Kidney trading in the Philippines, involving dirt-poor people and prisoners who sell their organs for paltry sums to syndicates catering mostly to foreign clients, has been reported by the local media and reflects the depth of the Southeast Asian nation's poverty.

A TV network once featured a Manila slum in which dozens of men sported abdominal scars after giving up their kidneys.

The order seeks to provide a more benevolent image to kidney donations by prohibiting the payment of money as a precondition. It says donations must be done «out of selflessness and philanthropy» to save and ensure the quality of life of the beneficiary.



Read more: http://www.pr-inside.com/philippine-health-chief-approves-order-r503162.htm

[Night_Nurse]

1. How many...

folks here in the U.S. would sell an organ out of desperation?

Picture the scene: His job has been outsourced, his home is being foreclosed, he has a family to support, bankruptcy and homelessness loom on the horizon... then someone offers him $50k (or more) for a kidney. Hey, he's got two kidneys, only need one of 'em, right? Kind of a no-brainer.

Good thing we have laws against that here. However, I find it interesting how the rich/famous don't spend very much time on a waiting list for a donor organ.