CAIRO: A shocking new report by the Coalition for Organ Failure Solutions (COFS) Egypt indicates that organ trafficking is on the rise in the country, as traffickers continue to target Sudanese refugees and other asylum seekers in the nation. According to the report, entitled “Sudanese Victims of Organ Trafficking in Egypt,” traffickers remove the kidneys of their victims “either by inducing consent, coercion, or outright theft.” The report was written based on case studies of 57 Sudanese refugees, including men, women, and children, who said they were victims of organ trafficking. COFS conducted in-depth interviews with 12 of the victims; three among them reported that the smugglers who helped them escape Sudan and enter Egypt had worked directly with the organ traffickers. The report also includes video testimonies, ultrasound reports and medical records. COFS estimates that there are thousands of victims of organ trafficking in Egypt. Refugees are the most common victims, as traffickers seek to exploit their insecure legal status in the country. Since the first live-donor kidney transplant took place in Egypt in 1976, there has been no governing authority over the practice, making commercial donations the norm. According to estimates cited by the report, 500-1,000 licensed transplants are performed annually, in addition to 100-200 unlicensed transplants. “Until recently, Egypt was one of the few countries that prohibited organ donation from deceased donors; the country therefore relied entirely on the living. Accordingly, a free, unregulated market has been the distribution mechanism,” the report reads. “The passing of a national law on transplantation in Egypt in February 2010 provides a framework for the prohibition of organ trafficking and the permission to transplant from deceased donors,” says the report, however a lack of security and enforcement in Egypt has left the issue largely untouched by authorities. Reports of kidnappings and abuses of refugees and migrants in the Sinai Peninsula are on the rise as well, as a security vacuum in the country is sustained in the midst of political transition and instability after the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak in February 2010. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/uCZ8y Tags: featured, Organ Trafficking Section: Egypt, Human Rights, Latest News
