ORGAN brokers have for too long preyed on desperation to rake it in. The odious trade — among the most harmful transnational crimes — will diminish if considered an aspect of human trafficking. The fact that laws remain static on paper worsens the situation. The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act was passed over 15 years ago to protect the vulnerable from exploitation for monetary gains. Yet the menace thrives in swanky areas as well as hospitals fitted with medical equipment, supplies and qualified staff to commit such crimes. The FIA’s Anti-Corruption Circle, Islamabad Zone, arrested nine people, including a prominent urologist and staffer, for their alleged involvement in illegal kidney transplants and organ smuggling. Officials maintain that these raids are part of a wider probe into nefarious rings that trade in poor people’s kidneys.

Cracking down on organ trafficking is the only way to stop the poor from being used as a ready source of organs for the affluent, and to protect recipients from unsafe transplants. But security remains elusive when the Human Organ Transplant Authority is seen as blameworthy. Tasked with transplant regulation, donor evaluation, and investigation of shady actions, it has failed to detect illegal operations. Ending trafficking means uprooting criminal rings that have powerful patronage. Detentions must be followed by honest investigation and prosecution, as opposed to discreet settlements. Medics found guilty must be disqualified for life. Meanwhile, owners of public and private medical units found complicit should face dire consequences, such as asset confiscation. Provincial collaboration, updated databanks and fast-track courts to ensure rapid convictio`ns are crucial. To crack a global scourge, an international cooperation strategy involving agencies is vital to dismantling organ transplant tourism. Law enforcement cannot lurch from one raid to another without intelligence inputs. Sporadic crackdowns have led to headlines but not effective neutralisation.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2026