LONDON: Brokers in Egypt’s underground trade in human body parts use prostitutes to tempt migrants to sell their kidneys as hospitals turn a blind eye to illicit dealing in donated organs for transplants, a report says.
Undocumented Africans arriving in Cairo, desperate for cash, told the British Journal of Criminology that sex workers were offered as a “sweetener” before or after removal of their organs.
“(One pimp) used the services of sex workers as leverage when negotiating fees with both sellers and buyers,” the report said. “A night with a sex worker was offered as an extra inducement to sell.”
Organ purchase is banned in Egypt, though the country is a common destination for transplant tourism, along with India, Pakistan and Russia, according to separate research by Erasmus MC University Hospital Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
In April, images published on social media showed the badly scarred bodies of Somali migrants on an Egyptian beach, suggesting they had had organs removed.
“The Egyptians come equipped to remove the organ and transport it in insulated bags,” people smuggler Nouredin Atta was quoted by Britain’s Times newspaper as telling investigators after his arrest.
Migrants lured by sex into Egypt’s kidney trade: Report
Migrants lured by sex into Egypt’s kidney trade: Report
