The unfavorable economic conditions and lack of a guaranteed future have led many in Iran to resort to selling their body organs to make ends meet for a few months, and the rising price of the dollar has fueled a thriving black market for body organs of Iranian citizens in neighboring countries.
The sale of body organs in Iran is not a new phenomenon and has existed for many years. But the simultaneous sale of multiple body organs is shocking and bewildering. The walls around facilities such as Hashemi Nejad hospital in Tehran are full of ads for the sale of body organs. Authorities paint the walls to cover the ads. But sellers continue to display their phone numbers in fine and bold lines using markers or sprays.
According to a report by the regime’s Gostaresh News website, brokers profit from people’s desperation, while profiteers in neighboring countries earn foreign currency by trading in body organs. The website, which is linked to the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, reports that there have recently been simultaneous advertisements for the sale of several body organs by individuals, some of them still at a young age. These individuals usually sell their organs due to financial problems.
The announced prices for all vital organs, including the kidney, bone marrow, and one-fourth of the liver, range from 4 to 12 billion rials (approximately $8,000 to $24,000), and some individuals have put multiple organs up for sale at the same time.
According to a field report by the website, there are active Telegram channels and Instagram pages for the sale of body organs, with many active users who offer vital organs for sale by placing free ads. The report states that brokers send the sellers to neighboring countries such as United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and Turkey to sell their body organs for prices ranging from $7,000 to $15,000.
According to the author’s investigation, all organs of a living human being that can be transplanted, including the kidney, bone marrow, one-fourth of the liver, and any other organ, can be bought and sold in the black market of organ donation for 5 to 30 billion rials (approximately $10,000 to $60,000).
The report emphasizes that “other countries have made the buying and selling of body organs illegal, and Iran is the only country where buying and selling organs is legally and religiously permissible.”
This report shows that there are advertisements for the donation of embryos, eggs, and uteruses for rent are also abundant among women.
The Didban-e Iran website also reported in June 12 on the sale of body organs of Iranians with trips to Turkey and Iraq.
In a field report on May 4 by Jahan-e Sanat newspaper cited a sharp increase in the buying and selling of body organs in Iran due to citizens falling into the “valley of poverty.”
