Organ Harvesting

What is Organ Harvesting?

Forced organ harvesting is the illegal practice of surgically removing a victim’s organs against their will. They are forcefully removed. Some examples:

• Victims are kidnapped and have an organ forcefully removed.
• Victims are tricked into believing they require an operation and whilst under anaesthetic have an organ removed, without knowledge or consent.
• Human traffickers are known to offer safe passage in return for an organ.
• Many victims of forced organ harvesting have previously been exploited through human trafficking and other forms of slavery.
• Other victims are murdered on demand and have their organs removed to fulfil an order.

The incidence of forced organ harvesting is rising worldwide. The World Health Organisation predicts that more than one illegal organ transaction is made every hour worldwide.

Surgical extracting an organ involves major surgery, with major risks involved. The extraction of some organs (e.g. kidneys) is performed on living donors poses a substantial risk to life and future quality of life. As well as the risk of major surgery, the status of organ harvesting means that protocol and hygiene standards may be questionable increasing the risk of infection and endangering victims.

Organ transplants are becoming increasingly commonplace. They are carried out by the NHS in Wales. These transplants are safeguarded to reduce the risk of organ harvesting. The Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 permits an opt-out system of organ donation, presumed consent or deemed consent. It allows hospitals to presume that people aged 18 or over, who have been resident in Wales for over 12 months want to donate their organs at their death unless they have objected specifically. For more information on the safeguards and strict criteria that are used to underpin any decisions around transplants please see Organ Donation.