12,000 Human Organs Illegally Traded Each Year: What's the Price?

A renowned Indonesian designer is suspected of illegally ordering a package of human body parts from a university laboratory in Brazil.

Brazilian police's anti-human trafficking division reportedly arrested several individuals involved in the shipment on Tuesday (February 22nd). The case is currently under further investigation by the Brazilian Federal Police.

According to a report by *Transnational Crime and the Developing World*, released by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), approximately 12,000 human organs are illegally traded worldwide each year.

The total transaction value is estimated to range from US$840 million to US$1.7 billion annually.

According to GFI data, the most commonly illegally traded human organs globally are:

1. Kidneys

An estimated 7,995 human kidneys are traded on the global black market each year. The price ranges from US$50,000 to US$120,000 per kidney.

2. Liver

Human livers rank second, with an estimated trade volume of 2,615 per year. The price ranges from US$99,000 to US$145,000 per liver.

3. Heart

The illegal trade of human hearts is estimated at 654 per year, with prices ranging from US$130,000 to US$290,000 per heart.

4. Lungs

Human lungs are sold on the global black market for US$150,000 to US$290,000 per lung. The trade volume is estimated at 469 per year.

5. Pancreas

Human pancreases are priced at approximately US$110,000 to US$140,000 per pancreas, with a trade volume of around 233 per year.

Transnational Crime

GFI considers the illegal trade of human organs a transnational crime because it generally involves cross-border networks.

This crime is typically perpetrated by professional networks consisting of brokers, medical personnel such as surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses, and individuals within public institutions such as hospitals, airlines, and laboratories.

The human organs sold generally originate from countries with predominantly low-income and low-education populations.

Buyers, on the other hand, are mostly high-income individuals from developed countries.

(Also read: [Reaching Rp 273.9 Trillion, These Are the 10 Richest Designers in the World Today](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2021/12/03/tembus-rp-2739-triliun-ini-10-desainer-terkaya-di-dunia-saat-ini))