Poor Britons offer to sell kidneys on Facebook

In news that should be music to the ears of Indian authorities who are constantly trying to control the social media, an investigation by a UK newspaper has found that desperate Britons are turning to Facebook to advertise their organs for sale at up to £30,000 (Rs31 lakh), despite the medical and legal risks involved.

In the UK it is an offence under the Human Tissue Act to advertise or buy organs for sale. This means that anyone offering to sell their own organs – even if they intend to travel abroad to have the operation – could face prison.

A reporter for The Sunday Post posing as the brother of a woman in need of a transplant advertised on Facebook. Within a week he had received 11 offers, two of which were from people living in the UK.

One father-of-three from the north-east of England contacted the reporter to say that it ''would be a big thing to do but for the right amount I would be willing''. A fee of £30,000 was subsequently discussed.

A 22-year-old from Northampton offered a kidney for £20,000 as he needed to return to Hungary with his pregnant fiancé.

Reporters also found evidence that people were placing ads and seeking potential buyers for their organs, including a 28-year-old chef from Aberdeenshire and a mother from Hampshire.

Alan Clamp, chief executive of the Human Tissue Authority which regulates live organ donations throughout the UK, said, ''It is illegal to offer or seek payment for organs for sale under the Human Tissue Act, and no operation from a living donor can go ahead without our approval.

''Before a transplant from a living donor goes ahead, the hospital transplant team will assess if the donor is suitable and run several tests to ensure the transplant will be as successful as possible. An independent assessor, acting on behalf of the HTA, will then carry out interviews with both parties and report back.

''We need to satisfy ourselves that the donor knows the risks involved, that the donor has given consent freely and no reward has been offered or received."

India has similar laws – but they are mostly on paper, as with millions below the poverty line and lax enforcement, organs can be bought and sold without any reference to Facebook. But that of course is another story.