No Joke

What do three New Jersey Mayor's, two lawyers, and five rabbi's have in common?

Unfortunately this is not the beginning of a bad joke.

These people are among 44 people who have been charged with corruption, including illegally selling human organs for transplantation.  You can read the entire article here, here, and here. but I can give you some of the highlights.

Members of the group are accused on multiple counts of conspiracy and one of the Rabbi's is being accused of buying kidneys from Israeli citizens for $10,000 and selling them for $160,000 to individuals needing transplants in the U.S.  This of course, is very illegal.   The group is also being charged with money laundering, corruption, and selling fake Gucci handbags.  (Not sure how that last one fits in.)

A story like this really pisses me off because it is things like this that put a negative light on Organ Donation.  Plus the fact that these people are taking advantage of people that are desperate for hope.  The sad part is, that in a truly honest moment, many people that are waiting for a transplant would consider paying for a kidney on the black market.  With 80,000 people on the waiting list across the country, and the number of available organs far less then that, there are a lot of people looking for hope.

My transplant center was on top of this story and issued the following talking points in regards to this story.

The facts:

 

• Federal organ and tissue donation laws prohibit the buying and selling of organs for transplantation.

 

• Under the current national system, wealth, fame and social status do not enhance anyone’s chances of getting an organ or tissue.

 

Further Information

 

·        Human organ trafficking is illegal in the United States and the transplant community strongly opposes unlawful acts of this nature.

 

·        Financial incentives for organs and tissue are against the law and are in direct conflict with the altruistic nature of organ and tissue donation and the federal law that regulates organ and tissue donation.

 

• ·        The alleged acts of Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum, accused of human organ trafficking, are, if proven true, illegal, reprehensible and a disgrace to the organ procurement community and to the altruistic donors who have given an organ to a stranger, someone they’ve never met, out of kindness.
  

 

·        Of the 44 corruption arrests, Rosenbaum is the only one being charged with human organ trafficking. If convicted he could face the maximum statutory penalties of five years in Federal prison and a maximum statutory fine of $250,000.

 

·        The system of organ allocation in the United States is safe and fair. Exposing criminal activity of this nature may damage the public trust and could reduce the number of people signing up on state donor registries to designate their decision to be organ and tissue donors.  It is important for Donate Life Organizers to share the facts about organ donation with family members, friends and colleagues.