Maung* is one of many in Myanmar caught in a downward spiral fueled by poverty, civil conflict, and limited economic opportunities. In July 2023, he traveled to India to sell his kidney for 10 million Burmese kyat ($3,709), a price that is nearly double the annual average income in urban Myanmar. Unfortunately, Maung’s story is not unique. After a year-long investigation, CNN uncovered a growing number of desperate people in Myanmar selling their organs on Facebook to wealthy individuals, often through a third-party agent facilitating the illegal sale.

Poverty, conflict, and grim decisions

Maung explains that he felt like his only option to survive and provide for his family was to offer his kidney for sale on Facebook.

“In that moment, I felt life was so harsh, there is no other way I could survive other than to rob or kill people for money.”

Maung was in an impossible situation, with his wife and daughter having not eaten in three days and debt piling up after he was detained and tortured by Myanmar’s military junta on suspicion of transporting goods for opposition forces.

Haunted by his decision, before his surgery Maung said,

“I am suffering deep down when I look at my family. They have nothing. Meanwhile, I am also stressed about what lies ahead. If I die, I hope this money could help my wife and daughter for their food and survival, even if it would not last their whole lifetime”

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