Hospitals plagued by phone calls offering kidneys for sale

October 6, 2006

Several hospitals and a group of kidney disease patients have received phone calls asking them if they would like to buy kidneys, it was learned Thursday.

Those promoting kidney transplantations are furious about the alleged transactions.

"Such actions could damage the public's trust in kidney transplantations, which has been built up over the past several years, and are intolerable," Hirotaka Kurihara, vice president of the Japan Association of Kidney Disease Patients, said. "We'd like the government to crack down on those who are involved in such schemes."

Hokkaido University Hospital in Kita-ku, Sapporo, received a call from a man several years ago saying, "Would you please buy my kidney?" hospital officials said.

The hospital worker who responded to the call refused to comply on the grounds that purchase of kidneys is illegal. The man then asked if there is any other organization that would buy the organ.

Buying and selling internal organs is prohibited under the Organ Transplantation Law. "It's absurd that the caller doesn't know that transactions of organs are unlawful," said a university hospital surgeon in charge of kidney transplantations.

Kitasato University Hospital in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, also got a similar phone call from a woman about 10 years ago. "Can I sell my kidney?" the caller said.

"It's illegal. If you do that, you'll be arrested by the police," a hospital staff member who responded her call said. The caller immediately hung up.

Officials at a private university in Tokyo said it was visited by a person wishing to receive a kidney transplant, accompanied by what was called a donor. However, the hospital refused to conduct a transplantation operation for ethical reasons.

An anonymous person also called the Osaka Association of Kidney Disease Patients, asking about organizations that buy kidneys, officials said. It also got a suspicious letter offering to introduce an overseas institution that conducts kidney transplantation operations. (Mainichi)

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This article posted October 29, 2006.