Organ Thieves: Inside the Dark World of Organ Trafficking | Organ Trade Documentary

A gritty and unflinching descent into the shadowy world of black-market organ trafficking: the street-level brokers, the rogue surgeons, the impoverished men and women who are willing to sacrifice a slice of their own bodies for a quick payday, and the desperate patients who face the agonizing choice of obeying the law or saving their lives.

Every year, tens of thousands of human organ transplants are performed around the globe. Most transplanted kidneys come from cadavers or relatives of the patient. But demand for this organ far exceeds the supply. So thousands are bought and sold on a flourishing black market. With unprecedented access to all the players – the buyers, sellers, surgeons and brokers - the film explores the legal, moral and ethical issues involved in this life-and-death drama.

This is not a black-and-white story of exploitation, but rather, a nuanced and complex tale of survival for both the buyers and sellers. This is a world where the villains often save lives, while all to often, a helpless medical establishment watches people die.

This documentary was produced by Syndicado and directed by Ric Esther Bienstock. It was first released in 2013.

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[charo]

The contrast between the donor who says he wants his sons to have a house they can stand up in and the receiver who says she wants to travel is insane. The donor should receive sooo much more.

[TharaLetzISLANDER]

They pay 100K for a kidney but the seller only gets 2K ridiculous

[helluvawomen]

I’m a Dialysis Technician so I’ve seen and heard and had many conversations with patients about transplants. Some feel conflicted about being on the transplant list because unless the organ is from a living donor, they are waiting for someone to die in order to live. More Over, A kidney transplant will only last 8 to 15 years. It’s not a one and done situation. AND you have to take a handful of pills multiple times a day to prevent rejection. The craziest story I’ve heard is a family member donated her kidney to another family member on dialysis, and the kidney that was donated failed AND the one kidney the donor had left FAILED. So they BOTH ended up going back on dialysis. Crazy.

[kyeijoseph]

What saddens me is, i don't see any changes in the lives of those who decided to sell an organ for money. They should have been living a better life afterwards

[or]

I feel bad for the man who gave up one of his kidney, and now the only kidney he had left is bad 😔

[bennetts-revenge_]

You give up a kidney, you better hope the one you have left doesn't crap out on you. Then you're screwed

[Charity]

They gave their kidneys to make money and yet are still living in the ghettos. I don't see how that has helped them much

[aminabouali]

This is heartbreaking. Giving a kidney to save someone is nobel. But selling a kidney for 2000 dollars is just heartbreaking.

[jadecarey]

So the daughter doesn't want to give up hers but also doesn't want her dad to get it the other way as well ? She would irritate the hell outta me if I was at the table

[franceslux]

Also believe the daughter had a right to refuse. No one should be forced to give away body parts

[rsene]

This documentary is well written withmultiple view points. Nice job putting this together.

[angiedillman]

YouTube deleted my comment, what I said is nothing that breaks community guidelines. I said "I watched a documentary where a mother sold hers, and then later on her son needed one and she couldn't help him." That comment was deleted. Make it make sense YouTube.

[michkins]

My mother refused kidney transplant. She lived for 10yrs on Peritoneal Dialysis (2012—2022). It is very heartbreaking to see so many folks suffering with Renal Failure. Sigh!

[teekolinski]

I remember seeing this years ago. If people get paid to donate blood plasma, they should be paid to donate organs. As long as they are fully informed before the process, I see no problem.

[bekarni]

This prosecutor saying that harvesting organs from people living in poverty is an "outrageous act" it's literally making my blood boil. He has his comfortable 90.000 a year salary and absolutely no understanding what people are prepared to do to get themselves and their families out of misery.
Maybe instead of buying another posh car or 12bed holiday home he should give half of his salary to help those in need, so they wouldn't have to sell their organs.

[katharinah.]

Dialysis nurse here, who loves her parents, but would never give a kidney to them. You want to know why? I've seen them both make bad health decisions my whole live, beeing overweight, having diabetes, while I eat healthy and do sports. As a dialysis nurse I can guarantee you, that most of the patients don't change their lifestyle and many of them destroy the transplant and come back to dialysis after few months or years, and some die shortly after the operation because of complications or just because of their age and other health issues they have. So please stop hating on the daughter for thinking rationally.
Better safe your kidneys for younger people like your future children.

[electronicnotarystamp]

Trying to get his daughter is sickening I would never ask my son to donate his kidney for me she needs to stay alive for her children

[sheilajohnson]

The daughter shouldn’t have been put on the spot to give her kidney to her Dad. If she was comfortable giving, she would’ve offered.

[melwee]

This is by far the BEST documentary exploring the issues on organ trade. It covers cases across so many different countries, people from varied cultural backgrounds and diversed needs. A true eye-opener to both sides of the donors' and recipients' perspectives.
I especially shudder at the meagre compensation that the desperate donors from impoverished backgrounds get in exchange for a precious kidney.

[ginjersnapz]

I have chronic kidney diease, will probably be looking at diaylsis in the next few years and maybe have 10 good years left...However I couldn't ask my kids to give up their organs for me, I have lived my life and am fine with dying.