Is Illegal Kidney Trafficking Just the Beginning?

I first heard about the story of the man in New York who was brokering black market kidney transplants yesterday on NPR news.  Then I ran across it again this morning on Wired Science.  The guy got busted by the FBI trying to arrange an illegal kidney transplant.  After the sting, he told investigators that he had brokered several other such deals.  He claims that the transplant procedures took place in U.S. hospitals by experienced surgeons and that the Isreali donors were well compensated.  And that's all good; it would be some pretty frightening shit if the procedures were being done in a roadside motel or an old meat locker or something similarly disturbing.

It's important to note, though, that a kidney transplant is not as easy as changing the fuel filter on an old Chevy pickup.  In particular, immunological markers have to be matched effectively to reduce the risk of the patient having a major foreign body response to the organ.  And even then, the chances of complications after the procedure are not trivial.

But I can't help thinking that this case could be a sort of omen; how runaway medical care costs and high rates of uninsured Americans could be fostering a culture of illegal, black market medical practices.  Not only do people die while on a waiting list for donor organs, but they also die because they can't afford the transplants.  The man who was arrested in New Jersey for trafficking kidneys was charging $160,000.  Seems fairly steep, but would it have cost any less if the patient had gone through official channels to get the kidney?  And how long would they have had to wait on a list before receiving the needed organ?  According to one website, the average waiting time for a kidney is 3 to 5 years.  That's a long time to wait if you are dying a slow, painful death.  And the average transplant cost, according to one study, is just shy of $90,000.  Add to that the $135,000 that it will cost to be on kidney dialysis for the 3 years that you're waiting for a suitable donor organ and suddenly $160,000 for an illegal kidney starts to look like a pretty attractive option.

My guess is that there will be more cases like this in the future, especially if the new Affordable Care Act is repealed.  And you want to know what we can do to make sure that these types of instances don't become commonplace?  Support universal health care.