Human organ trafficking is one of the world’s hottest businesses without ever debating the ethics of selling organs from the less fortunate to the people who can pay the money.
Ricardo Neri and Roberto Orazzi were curious to find out how much of an urban legend it was, who was doing it, how the organs travelled and what were the procedures to get an organ.
According to H.O.T., the place where anyone could find organs was Brazil. The interview subjects commented that the children in the favelas were in danger due to human organ traffickers. A father whose son had a small injury and was transferred to a hospital, explained that his healthy son was proclaimed dead after 2 days while the doctors attempted to kill him. When that was done, they removed his organs. The father was accused of being mentally ill and was prosecuted several times, which is why he had to leave Brazil. He couldn’t challenge the Brazilian laws and the government who was involved in the organ trafficking.
Other interviewees - independent traffickers, said that their operations were based on people who were volunteering to donate their organs, and based on their story, everyone in the end was happy. The same story wasn’t told only in Brazil, but as the crew was traveling, in Nepal and Turkey the mediators and the doctors were saying exactly the same, and felt no shame about their actions. Most of the time the donators weren’t told what was going to happen but they were accepting the money offered and the job due to their needs.
In Nepal, the mediators weren’t even paying the donators; they were putting them to sleep and removing their organs without their consent. The most surprising discovery was how these organs were traveling to all over the world, as the less fortunate, the poor, were taken advantage very easily due to the lack of education. In China, the organs are transplanted after each government execution. Since the government owns the hospitals, all those who need organs would have to wait for the next execution. This is all legal, black and white on paper, said a Chinese prisoner.
Riccardo Neri said that this was one of the most dangerous jobs for him and his crew, and they got in trouble a couple times. While they were also trying to go and explore other places, such as Kosovo, they had to stop due to the danger. But thanks to him, the world now has a clearer picture of the business. The film also questions ethical standards, whether one should sell their own organs for money because they need them, or whether the person who needs an organ should not have the opportunity to get it. It is indeed, a tricky question but for as long as there is profit, there will be ways to get around the law.
How this is all done, and who profits the most, it is best to watch the film. It will get everyone quickly hooked in. There is no graphic content or chases, and the crew was doing their best to avoid problems and was trying to play safe.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527626/combined
