People In The Philippines Sell Their Kidneys On FB Because They Need Money

“Money, money, money,” my mum once sang in the bath. “Must be funny… in a rich man’s world.”

Classic Abba. And how true it is. Money, a key essential of the utmost importance in today’s world, must be but a rat’s fart to the richest man on Earth. After all, have you not heard of Pablo Escobar, the Columbian drug lord who burnt $2 million just to keep his daughter warm?

Blasphemy. If it was me I would’ve sooner suffered through frostbite than burn even $10 of that precious stack. The logic of rich people. But of course, I might just be sounding salty about it so please excuse my chilling honesty.

And yet, while the above notion uncertainly holds true, the opposite might just hold equal truth as well. To poor families, money is but everything, if not everything. And really, there’s nothing better to exemplify that notion, than the following article headline:

People In The Philippines Sell Their Kidneys On FB Because They Need Money

Money, money, money, must be funny, to a rich man’s world.

How ironic, really.

People In The Philippines Sell Their Kidneys On FB Because They Need Money

Over in the Philippines, advertisements for healthy kidneys aren’t just a fictional prospect on social media.

They’re actually common. 

In fact, just a quick search along the lines of ‘kidney donation Philippines’ or ‘kidney for sale’ in the Facebook search bar will routinely reveal countless posts by organ brokers, kidney patients and hopeful sellers who wish to utilise social media’s reach to complete a deal.

And though organ trafficking isn’t exactly something new in the Southeast Asian nation, what’s new is its expansion into the world of social media. And because of its secretive nature, law enforcement officers find it hard-pressed to keep up with traffickers who operate behind the anonymity of the Internet.

“It has been observed that all forms of trafficking in persons, whether for sex or labour trafficking, are now being committed through the use of online platforms like social media,” said Yvette T Coronel, deputy executive of the Philippines’ Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking under the Department of Justice.

“(The) kidney is the most commonly trafficked organ due to its high demand in the black market and the fact that a donor can survive with only one kidney.”

The Pressure Of Money

Amidst all the organ-selling advertisements, one such story belongs to that of Carlos, who had welcomed his newborn baby girl with so much love and yet trepidation at the same time.

They were struggling financially, and the hospital bill certainly did not help ease the money needs off his shoulders. 

Desperate, Carlos turned to an unconventional solution borne out of years of living in one of Manila’s poorest communities:

Organ trafficking.

Having logged on to Facebook on 27 September 2019, he posted a short message and hoped for the ‘best’:

“I am selling one of my kidneys, contact me. I am serious… No fake transaction please…” he wrote, alongside 14 other Facebook users on that particular thread who had advertised their kidneys for sale.

“When the doctor asked when I’d be able to bring my family home, I felt extremely pressured because I didn’t have the money to get them out. I told him I’d find a way and do what I could to get it,” said Carlos.

“I topped up my phone and made a search on Facebook. I typed ‘kidney for sale’ in the search bar and so many options appeared. Some are looking for donors. Others are offering to buy organs.”

A Serious Crime

Human trafficking for organs might pay off huge dividends, but that’s entirely confined to the financial sector. Over in the legal sector, it’s paying off huge dividends… in the wrong way.

According to CNA, human trafficking for organs is a serious crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison under Philippine law.

However, because of the universe regulation of social media networks, users have embarked upon themselves to make public postings, even going as far as to offer numerous details, stemming from phone numbers to the results of various health tests.

Perhaps it’s because of this development, that the illicit trade of human organs is cited to remain a thriving and lucrative business in the country. After all, criminals are essentially negotiating from the confined environment of their homes, and ultimately remain anonymous.

Nevertheless, cybercrime police in the Philippines are still putting up a valiant fight, scanning the Internet regularly for suspicious activities. Upon picking up a lead on possible organ trafficking, they swiftly forward the information to relevant authorities for follow-up operations. This leads to pieces of information that combine to map a geographical pattern, that could potentially narrow down areas in question.

“Behind an online transaction is an actual person,” said the cybercrime agent. “Even though they’re anonymous, at least you have a certain lead on those people behind this transaction, and that’d be enough for us to follow through on an investigation.”

“My Family Are The Most Important People In My Life”

Thankfully, Carlos has avoided the need to sell his kidney, as he successfully managed to borrow some money to pay for the hospital bill. However, he did not dismiss the notion entirely when asked about the future.

“My family are the most important people in my life,” he said. “It’ll always be an option.”

And with that in mind, I shall end off this article by preaching the introductory phrase, once again:

“Money, money, money. Must be funny… in a rich man’s world.”

Should you wish to peruse more on the topic, you can click here.

You can also learn more about Carlos’ story here:

And if you want to, you might want to watch Fractured on Netflix. Not completely related but still a tad relevant.