S.Africa Arrests Kidney Traffic Suspects
South African police arrested a Durban doctor and the regional transplant coordinator for a private hospital group on Friday in an investigation into international human organ traffickers, an official said. Last month police arrested three members of a trafficking syndicate, accused of luring destitute Brazilians to a Durban hospital to part with one of their kidneys for around $10,000 dollars, mostly from Israeli patients. Despite poor health care for much of its black majority, South Africa’s top hospitals are excellent. Police spokeswoman Mary Martins-Engelbrecht said Durban police were now investigating more than 70 cash-for-kidney operations, part of a growing trade in organs spawned by an acute shortage of kidneys in rich countries. Full Story