A group of people were caught selling vital organs such as kidneys, ears, or corneas from desperate individuals for exorbitant amounts—up to 700 billion rials (approximately $700,000)—to wealthy Iranian families.
According to the regime-run Hamshahri newspaper, the sellers included five Iraqi and four Iranian men. Exploiting legal loopholes and using false promises, they brought foreign nationals—including citizens of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and Bangladesh—into Iran.
These individuals were from extremely impoverished backgrounds in their home countries and agreed to sell their vital organs in hopes of receiving dollar payments. However, the bulk of the profit went to middlemen and traffickers in the ring.
The amounts this trafficking ring received for organ sales ranged from 100 to 700 billion rials (approximately $100,000 to $700,000).
If the target had a highly compatible blood type and passed all medical tests, the price of their organs increased.
On the other side, brokers usually identified families with financial means who were seeking kidneys for sick relatives.
In such cases, the patients’ families were willing to spend billions of rials to purchase a kidney matching their relative’s blood type in an attempt to save their life.
This case is particularly significant due to its organized structure and the extensive network involved.
The group began by identifying individuals from Iraq, Sudan, and Syria who were willing to sell their organs and negotiated with them.
They then arranged passports, handled embassy procedures, and finally obtained plane tickets for their entry into Iran.
The suspects transported their victims to locations in the Dolatabad district of Shahr-e Rey and kept them in unsanitary conditions until it was time for their surgery.
Notably, these surgeries were performed in officially licensed hospitals under the supervision of Iran’s Ministry of Health, which itself is a sign of regulatory failure and systemic corruption within Iran’s healthcare system.
In recent months and years, numerous reports have been published in Iranian media about workers and citizens who, in protest of unpaid wages or due to worsening living conditions, resorted to selling their organs and later suffered death or severe physical complications.
As poverty continues to spread rapidly across Iran, many people have turned to selling body parts such as kidneys and corneas to cover basic living needs. In some cases, individuals have even offered to sell their hearts—effectively agreeing to die—in a desperate attempt to lift their families out of poverty.
In the past year, the growing market for the sale and purchase of sperm, eggs, embryos, and surrogate wombs has also come under increasing scrutiny.
Social experts and medical professionals have repeatedly warned that this situation is a direct result of poverty, unemployment, and the drastic decline in people’s ability to afford basic living expenses.
The response of official and governmental institutions in Iran to this crisis has been entirely ineffective and contradictory.
While advertisements for kidney sales are easily found on platforms like Divar (a popular Iranian classifieds app) and on social media, the laws related to organ transplantation remain vague and incomplete.
According to a report by the state-run Tejarat News website, several teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16 and 22 told the outlet that they have turned to selling their kidneys or bone marrow out of financial desperation.
The report notes that younger age is considered an advantage for organ donors, making it easier for these youth to find buyers and receive the amount they seek.
Currently, kidneys are priced between 3 to 6 billion rials (approximately $30,000 to $60,000) in Iran’s organ sales market.
A 16-year-old named Hamid, who is one of the kidney sellers, told Tejarat News that he is even willing to sell his organ “a bit cheaper” due to his extreme financial need.
