Editor's Note: The following story was published online by Russia Today, a Kremlin-funded information organization that has been criticized for its anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
With Ukraine’s medical infrastructure and legislation making vital transplant organs hard to come by, the illegal trade in human organs is thriving as desperate people turn to the black market. The authorities are struggling to bring the problem under control, but their room for maneuver is restricted by Ukrainian legislation on transplants. In Russia and many other countries, doctors are free to use the organs of deceased people to save lives unless there is a written statement from a person prohibiting it. In Ukraine, however, the use of a dead person’s organs is allowed only with the permission of the relatives. This has led to the creation of a huge black donor-market. Read full report here.
Russia Today: Ukraine becomes Europe’s capital of organ trafficking
With Ukraine's medical infrastructure and legislation making vital transplant organs hard to come by, the illegal trade in human organs is thriving as desperate people turn to the black market.
