How much do organs sell for in Korea? Around $85,000 for a kidney

In South Korea, kidneys illegally sell for around $85,000 on the black market based on pricing uncovered from organ trafficking rings operating in the country as of 2015. Livers can go for around $169,000. Of course, organ sales are banned in Korea, but the immense shortage of organs globally combined with desperation has fueled underground illegal organ trading.

Let‘s take a deeper look at what‘s driving illegal organ sales in Korea and around the world.

Organ trafficking is a global human rights issue

I want to provide some background on the wider issue of human organ trafficking and sales. There is an immense shortage of available organs for transplant globally, with over 100,000 people waiting just in the U.S. alone according to organdonor.gov. With such a large imbalance between supply and demand, an illegal black market has emerged that exploits vulnerable populations.

Some estimates suggest around 10,000 black market kidney transactions occur globally each year. Prices range from $262,000 for a kidney in the U.S. to as low as $5000 in some developing countries according to Harvard International Review.

There are also major ethical concerns around bodily autonomy and human rights. In some cases, organs are even harvested from prisoners without consent. For example, China has been accused of forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience – which is terrifying. No one‘s organs should be sold or stolen against their will.

South Korea‘s battle with organ trafficking

South Korea is considered a developed country with advanced healthcare, but it has faced issues with illegal organ trafficking. In 2015, a criminal ring was caught trafficking organs from living donors. Police reported kidneys selling for ~$85,000 and livers for ~$169,000.

To understand why organ trafficking persists even in developed nations, you have to consider the vulnerabilities that traffickers exploit. Just like in the United States, income inequality in South Korea has left some groups struggling in poverty.

Organ traffickers target groups drowned in debt who become desperate enough to sell their organs illegally as a last resort. The poor may feel they have no other choice but to sacrifice their health and put themselves at risk to pay off debts and survive. It‘s exploitation of the vulnerable – which is morally wrong.

Squid Game‘s portrait of underground organ sales

The popular Netflix series Squid Game provides a fictional yet realistic portrayal of people so desperate that they agree to sell their organs.

In Squid Game, contestants deeply in debt had previously signed contracts agreeing to sell their organs like eyes and kidneys if they failed to repay loan sharks. Of course they only agree because they lack other options to deal with their extreme poverty. This reflects how in real life, desperation and lack of opportunity sadly drive people to accept dangerous and illegal options like illegally selling an organ.

Most nations outlaw organ sales – with some exceptions

Now you might be wondering – why doesn‘t the government legalize organ sales if it‘s going to happen anyways on the black market? Well, most countries understandably have laws banning organ sales to prevent exploitation. For example, the US passed the National Organ Transplant Act back in 1984 which made it illegal to buy or sell organs. Most healthcare professionals agree creating a legal organ "market" could make income inequality issues even worse. Those with money could easily exploit poorer groups more readily.

However, there are exceptions. Iran legalized kidney sales back in 1988. Iran runs a regulated kidney donation system allowing donors to receive around $4600. This has increased kidney donations, but also raises ethical issues around bodily autonomy that are debated. Ultimately, I think we need more creative solutions to increase ethical organ donations without legalizing sales.

Increasing organ supply ethically

So what‘s the solution? How can nations ethically increase organ supply to meet demand and reduce exploitation? Here are some options worth exploring:

• Improved organ donation registration and consent rates
• Ethical policies that encourage donation without payment
• Regulations on transplant tourism to prevent unethical exploitation across borders
• Using technology to expand the organ donor pool – for example machine perfusion to improve viability of donated organs
• Public education campaigns to increase trust and dispel myths around organ donation

Unethical organ exploitation persists due to the desperation of poverty. We must balance increasing ethical supply while protecting autonomy and human rights. With compassion and creativity, I believe we can expand organ access ethically. The stakes are human lives.