Organ Trafficking
Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism
The 2008 Declaration of Istanbul was the first document to define organ trafficking.
According to this declaration, organ trafficking is: “the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring orreceipt of living or deceased persons or their organs by means of the threat or use of force or other forms ofcoercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving to, or the receiving by, a third party of payments or benefits to achieve the transfer of control over the potential donor, for the purpose of exploitation by the removal of organs for transplantation.”
The Declaration is promoted, implemented and upheld by the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group and endorsed by the World Health Organization.
Draft Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs
Trafficking in organs is also defined in the new draft Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs. This convention was adopted beginning of 2014.
According to this new convention, trafficking in human organs is, when committed intentionally, any of the following activities:
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the removal of human organs from living or deceased donors where the removal is performed without the free, informed and specific consent of the living or deceased donor, or, in the case of the deceased donor, without the removal being authorised under its domestic law;
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the use of these organs for purposes of implantation or other purposes than implantation;
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the preparation, preservation, storage, transportation, transfer, receipt, import and export of these organs;
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aiding or abetting the commission of any of these criminal offences or the intentional attempt to commit any of these criminal offences;
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the solicitation and recruitment of an organ donor or a recipient, where carried out for financial gain or comparable advantage for the person soliciting or recruiting, or for a third party;
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the promising, offering or giving by any person, directly or indirectly, of any undue advantage to healthcare professionals, its public officials or persons who direct or work for private sector entities, in any capacity, with a view to having a removal or implantation of a human organ performed or facilitated, where such removal or implantation is illicit as defined above;
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the request or receipt by healthcare professionals, its public officials or persons who direct or work for private sector entities, in any capacity, of any undue advantage with a view to performing or facilitating the performance of a removal or implantation of a human organ, where such removal or implantation is illicit as defined above.
Further reading
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J. Sándor, V. Beširevic, E. Demény, G. Tudor Florea, N. Codreanu. Organ Trafficking, Organ Trade. Recommendations for a more Nuanced Legal Policy, in: Ambagtsheer, F. and Weimar, W, editors. The EULOD Project. Living Organ Donation in Europe. Results and Recommendations. Pabst. Lengerich; 2013: 147-174. Available here.
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V. Beširevic, N. Codreanu, E. Demény, G. T. Florea, J. Sándor. Improving the Effectiveness of the Organ Trade Prohibition in Europe. Recommendations. The EULOD Project. Living Organ Donation in Europe. Chisinau. 2012. Available here.
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Francis LP, Francis JG. Stateless Crimes, Legitimacy, and International Criminal Law: The Case of Organ Trafficking. Criminal Law and Philosophy. 2010;4(3):283-95.
Read more here.
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