Minister Implicated as Head of Illegal Liver Trade Ring

mike · #1 01-17-2006, 06:48 AM

This is a pretty disturbing story from the Chosun Ilbo.

Quote:

One of the arrested brokers, a minister identified by his family name Koh, ran an internet site for arranging organ transplant tours to China by which he collected several million won per person from patients desperate for the transplants, the police said. Five others who collaborated with Koh were booked without detention.

It was uncovered that Koh and his collaborators earned W120 million (US$120,000) from 28 liver cancer patients. These patients paid between W39 and W53 million for the operations along with W10 million for purchasing livers that were harvested from Chinese people, the police said.

Among those patients who received transplant operations in China, six died during or after the operations, a policeman said. These terminally ill patients with liver cancer have chosen to go to China for organ transplants due to the scarcity of viable liver donors in Korea, but the problem is that they end up suffering from complications caused by the ill-equipped medical facilities in China, he added. The police are planning to expand their investigation to root out more organ transplant sites on the Internet.

South Korea, like most countries, should promote organ donations. People go to extreme measures to get organs when so many get buried under the ground. I selected "organ donor" on my driver's license. If something bad happened to me and my organs were good, I would hope I could help out a terminally ill person.

Mike

no_more_soju · #2 01-17-2006, 08:02 AM

This is very disturbing. But it just goes to show any society is capable of such henious moral behavior. Not that I thought for a second that a Korean was any different than any other ethnic group of people.

As much as Korea has advanced in society in the past 50 years, you would think they would have an national/international organ transplant program and maybe they do. In addition, draft or uphold (if it exists) legislation to severely punish those who harvest organs for mere profit and educate the public that henious acts such as this happen daily in your society.

mike · #3 01-17-2006, 11:48 AM

What happens is most people don't even know they can donate their organs. When you get your license in the U.S., most states default "no" on volunteering you as an organ donor. I have heard of some states attempting to default to "yes", but I am not sure which ones actually do.

Anyone remember the great Walter Peyton dying as he waited for a new liver? On the weeks leading up to his death, thousands of livers he could have used to live were buried under the ground.

Mike

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