By JPOST.COM STAFForgan donation transplant 224 88(photo credit: Courtesy of www.linksambulance.co.uk)
Twelve people, some of them Israeli, were arrested in the Ukraine on suspicion that they were selling human organs, Army Radio reported on Friday.According to Army Radio, the head of the Human Trafficking Department in the Ukrainian police said the twelve contacted organ donors in the Ukraine and other countries in the former Soviet Union over the past three years.RELATED:Police arrest two in international organ fraud case5 bereaved families say 'yes' and save 16 livesOrgan transplants increase only slightlyThe trafficking ring mostly sold livers to Israelis and citizens of other countries for $10,000 per body part. The transplant surgeries were done mostly in Kiev, Azerbaijan and Ecuador.An Israeli suspected of heading the trafficking ring was arrested last month.In April, six people were arrested in Israel by the northern branch of the police's National Fraud Unit for allegedly misleading people into donating their organs in exchange for false promises of money, and for arranging dangerous organ transplants abroad that resulted in medical complications for recipients.The ring allegedly placed ads in local newspapers promising $100,000 to kidney donors. In some cases, those allegedly duped by the ads were paid only $10,000, while in other cases, the organ donors received no money at all.In 2008, the Knesset outlawed organ trafficking and the earning of profit on organ transplants. The law stipulates that all organ transplants must be carried out by the National Transplant and Organ Donation Center.
