Buying organs abroad

[Maiden1]

I bought a kidney from a poor and desperate mum to save my own life 

By Emma Smith 1/05/2009

EXCLUSIVE: It's illegal across most of the world but in some countries you can still pay for organs. Here, one woman explains why she made the controversial decision to buy someone's kidney.


After 18 months waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant Sukhi Johal feared she'd be dead within a year if a donor organ didn't arrive.

So desperate Sukhi did something that's illegal in nearly every country in the world and condemned by experts.

She bought a kidney from a poverty-stricken stranger – a penniless mother of three.

She says: "It was risky and controversial, as a lot of the time you have the middle men who are making money from your situation and exploiting the poor.

"But if I waited for a donor I knew it could take for ever.

"I felt so bad about what I was doing. These people have nothing and are vulnerable. More females are used as donors because they don't have much say.

"When I found out my donor was a young woman with three children I felt terrible.

"The more I thought about it, the more overwhelmed I became with guilt and sadness.

"I left money with a trusted friend over there so that the donor would be able to get access to money if she needed it."

Thousands of lives are saved in Britain each year through organ donation. But with waiting lists growing ever longer, patients are now looking elsewhere for willing donors.

Sukhi, 46, a beautician from West London, was faced with only a slim chance of getting a match and felt her time was running out.

She was diagnosed with kidney disease when she was 21 and told her kidneys would deteriorate over time and she would need a transplant in the future.

Until 2007, she was able to live a normal, happy life. But then she had to go on dialysis. It caused blood infections that meant she had to stop treatment after 18 months.

However, because of high levels of antibodies in her blood, only one person out of 100 on the waiting list would be a possible match – plus her chances of finding a suitable donor were also reduced because she was of Asian origin.

The refusal rate for families of potential donors from ethnic minorities is 70% – twice the rate of white potential donors.

"My sister got a call from a cousin whose friend's sister had gone abroad to Pakistan," says Sukhi. "She got a very successful kidney transplant."

And despite her fears Sukhi decided to go ahead.

"As soon as I made my mind up, that was it. I was at the end of my road. I couldn't continue with dialysis as it was making me so ill so I decided to take the risk.

"If it wasn't successful, I could accept that and if it was then great. I would get my life back."

Sukhi and her sister got in touch with the hospital in Lahore in August 2008.

"I was absolutely terrified about going out there," she says. "When I told my doctor, he was dead against it, which added to my anxiety. But the alternative was much worse as I might not live long."

In December 2008, Sukhi flew out to Pakistan with a close friend.

"At the hospital they said there's three things you have to know – there's no food or water the night before the operation and there are no painkillers.

"You can scream till you're blue in the face – everyone will ignore you."

Sukhi spent more than £30,000 of inheritance money from her father on flights, medical costs, the guesthouse and a small portion to the donor.

Then after three weeks a match was found. "It was an unbelievable feeling – I cried with happiness."

The next day she made her way to the hospital. "I was in tears – terrified in case something went wrong."


The operation lasted three hours and 45 minutes, and all Sukhi remembers is waking up in excruciating pain. However, more than anything Sukhi wanted to know who her donor was. Medics are forbidden to say but because Sukhi could speak the language, and the nurses liked her, they told her.


"I couldn't believe it when they pointed two beds away."

Sukhi's donor was a married 25-year-old woman with three children.

"I got up and started walking towards her despite the agony. The tears just started falling. I couldn't stop shaking as I thanked her.

"She just stared at me startled – not knowing what to say. It was the most profound experience of my life."

Sukhi learned the grim reality of the woman's life when she asked for her house number to keep in touch.

"I don't have a house," she said in Urdu.


Sukhi was shocked at how poor the people were and realised she had given her kidney solely for the money.

"She had put her health at risk for the sake of her children. I broke down in tears.

"More than anything I wanted to help her."

That's when Sukhi decided she wanted to do something for her donor because she was worried the agency might only give her a tiny percentage of the money she'd paid.

She gave her a substantial sum as well as toys and clothes for her children, and she managed to get the number of her father-in-law to keep in touch.

"I felt so bad and wanted to do whatever I could to repay this woman for giving me my life back.

"That's why I gave her money and left more with a friend for when she needed it.

"At the moment, I'm trying to set up some funds for her so that she can send her children to school."

Sukhi adds: "If I hadn't gone to Pakistan it would probably have been too late for me."

Newcastle Hospitals Donor Transplant Co-ordinator Lynn Robson says: "It's very risky to buy your kidney in other countries as you don't know what measures are being taken with regards to screening.

"The average waiting time for a kidney here is two years, so it's not unusual that Sukhi was waiting for a year-and-a-half.

"Obviously we would prefer they would wait it out rather than go to countries like Pakistan to buy one.

"I would strongly advise against this."

Trade in body parts

Illegal here, organ trading is booming in Pakistan.

People travel from Europe, the US and the Middle East to private hospitals that have sprung up around Rawalpindi and Lahore.

In the UK alone nearly 7,000 people are waiting for donor kidneys.

"We don't support payment for organ donations," says a spokesperson for the British Medical Association .

"There are a number of problems involved in buying a live transplant in countries like Pakistan.

"There are problems with aftercare and with the people donating in such poor countries. And you have to ask how ethical it is to exploit poor people so desperate they are donating organs."

[Gnevin]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

[screenmachine]

I was thinkin of this one for the chapel myself.

[thebigfella]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

No it isn't, it's the individual person/family's decision not the government. 

[SidelineKick]

Buying organs abroad is not the answer.

I got a Yamaha a few years back and I was raped on the P & P.  Buy all your organs from your local dealer.

[Rav67]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

No it isn't, it's the individual person/family's decision not the government. 

Think we had this discussion here recently.  There's no property in a dead body anyway so I can see us going down the 'opt out' route.  I hope so anyway- and if the individual for some strange reason wants to be buried with all his organs and not give a person in need the chance of life- he would be free to do so and opt out voluntarily.

[Gnevin]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

No it isn't, it's the individual person/family's decision not the government. 

So opt out

[thebigfella]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

No it isn't, it's the individual person/family's decision not the government. 

So opt out

I shouldn't have to. My next of kin are well aware of my wishes and they will make the decision on my behalf and not some database.

[The Watcher Pat]

I'm breaking a liver in for Gazza at the minute.....

[Gnevin]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

No it isn't, it's the individual person/family's decision not the government. 

So opt out

I shouldn't have to. My next of kin are well aware of my wishes and they will make the decision on my behalf and not some database.

If people feel strongly opposed to this they will opt out other wise they are in . Consider it Jury duty for the dead .

[The Watcher Pat]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

No it isn't, it's the individual person/family's decision not the government. 

So opt out

I shouldn't have to. My next of kin are well aware of my wishes and they will make the decision on my behalf and not some database.

If people feel strongly opposed to this they will opt out other wise they are in . Consider it Jury duty for the dead .

You shouldn't have to opt out...its a choice if you want your organs to go to some one you carry the card...if not don't..Its no ones choice but your own.

Personally i do carry it but thats entirely my choice and my choice alone no one else should make you or even try to make you.

[thebigfella]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

No it isn't, it's the individual person/family's decision not the government. 

So opt out

I shouldn't have to. My next of kin are well aware of my wishes and they will make the decision on my behalf and not some database.

If people feel strongly opposed to this they will opt out other wise they are in . Consider it Jury duty for the dead .

You shouldn't have to opt out...its a choice if you want your organs to go to some one you carry the card...if not don't..Its no ones choice but your own.

Personally i do carry it but thats entirely my choice and my choice alone no one else should make you or even try to make you.

It's not about people being strongly opposed to it for whatever reasons, it has to be a choice of that person or their next of kin. It's a tough enough time for a family losing someone (lots of the time these organs are harvested from a young people who died unexpected) without a load of doctors hovering around to harvest the body for spare parts. The medical staff have to show a bit of decorum, I doubt that would be the case in such a scheme.


Apart from the moral/legal aspect of removing that choice I'd be more concerned of my details being held on a database/s somewhere, who knows what information such a scheme could eventually contain about a potential donor. Could you search that database or compare data from a National ID/Donor Opt Out database for a donor match? That would be interesting, getting you hands on a list of living people who potentially could save your life. What lengths would people go to to get a look at that list or even more?
Might seem a bit far fetched and sinister at the moment but who knows where such a scheme could lead too, if any thing it would make a good plot for a movie 

[Diet Coke]

An opt out organ donation scheme is the way to go.

No it isn't, it's the individual person/family's decision not the government. 

So opt out

I shouldn't have to. My next of kin are well aware of my wishes and they will make the decision on my behalf and not some database.

If people feel strongly opposed to this they will opt out other wise they are in . Consider it Jury duty for the dead .

You shouldn't have to opt out...its a choice if you want your organs to go to some one you carry the card...if not don't..Its no ones choice but your own.

Personally i do carry it but thats entirely my choice and my choice alone no one else should make you or even try to make you.

It's not about people being strongly opposed to it for whatever reasons, it has to be a choice of that person or their next of kin. It's a tough enough time for a family losing someone (lots of the time these organs are harvested from a young people who died unexpected) without a load of doctors hovering around to harvest the body for spare parts. The medical staff have to show a bit of decorum, I doubt that would be the case in such a scheme.


Apart from the moral/legal aspect of removing that choice I'd be more concerned of my details being held on a database/s somewhere, who knows what information such a scheme could eventually contain about a potential donor. Could you search that database or compare data from a National ID/Donor Opt Out database for a donor match? That would be interesting, getting you hands on a list of living people who potentially could save your life. What lengths would people go to to get a look at that list or even more?
Might seem a bit far fetched and sinister at the moment but who knows where such a scheme could lead too, if any thing it would make a good plot for a movie 

ORGANised crime might be on the increase then

Seriously though it's a decision I hope I never have to make in relation to a relative.

[pintsofguinness]

bigfella

Apart from the moral/legal aspect of removing that choice I'd be more concerned of my details being held on a database/s somewhere, who knows what information such a scheme could eventually contain about a potential donor. Could you search that database or compare data from a National ID/Donor Opt Out database for a donor match? That would be interesting, getting you hands on a list of living people who potentially could save your life. What lengths would people go to to get a look at that list or even more?
Might seem a bit far fetched and sinister at the moment but who knows where such a scheme could lead too, if any thing it would make a good plot for a movie

I'd say you're spending too much time on the xbox 

[thebigfella]

bigfella

Apart from the moral/legal aspect of removing that choice I'd be more concerned of my details being held on a database/s somewhere, who knows what information such a scheme could eventually contain about a potential donor. Could you search that database or compare data from a National ID/Donor Opt Out database for a donor match? That would be interesting, getting you hands on a list of living people who potentially could save your life. What lengths would people go to to get a look at that list or even more?
Might seem a bit far fetched and sinister at the moment but who knows where such a scheme could lead too, if any thing it would make a good plot for a movie

I'd say you're spending too much time on the xbox 

Or not enough time leaving me too much time to post on here